THE LAWRENCE SISTERS
Penelope 1856 - 1932
Dorothy 1860 - 1933
Millicent 1863 - 1925
|
Roedean School opened on its grand clifftop site just outside Brighton in 1895 on land bought from the Marquis of Abergavenny, the Lord Lieutenant of Sussex. There were three Principals, Penelope, Dorothy and Millicent Lawrence. The sisters had come to Brighton from Wimbledon in South London* where their mother Mrs Lawrence in the 1870s had opened a school for girls in the family home, Fearegg House helped by Dorothy and Millicent. The venture was not practical and in 1887 Penelope, Dorothy and Millicent came to Sussex and opened another school for girls at 25-26 Lewes Crescent, Wimbledon House School, teaching Bible History, English Language and Literature, Languages, Natural Science, Music and Domestic Economy. Girls were prepared for entrance to the newly opened Girton and Newnham Colleges at Cambridge. At the time Brighton Town was full of private schools for both boys and girls tucked into the old terraces of large rambling houses - there were at least 15 other schools in Lewes Crescent alone ! Yet of all of these it was the school founded by the Misses Lawrence which survived. Expanded, grew; acquired eminence and status alongside academic excellence. This was a remarkable feat combining ambition , gifted teaching ability and business acumen the roots of which can be found within the close and loving lives of the Lawrence family. |
|
Penelope
Lawrence was the eldest child, born in 1856. Three months later
her mother died; the father Philip Lawrence remarried two years later.
He was a wealthy solicitor, a Unitarian, believe
 d
in education for all his 14 children, and the family spent many years
living in Europe becoming fluent in both French and German. As the eldest
child Penelope developed a strong personality alongside her considerable
academic gifts which were demonstrated at Cambridge where she studied
the Sciences at Newnham College from 1874 passing the Natural Science
Tripos - although the degree was not actually awarded. She took several
jobs as a teacher including one at the Wimbledon Girls High School before
giving up her independent work to come to Brighton with Dorothy and
Millicent. A natural leader and born teacher she could be impatient
and forthright but always with a high regard for honesty and sincerity.
Not one for domestic pursuits or games - she disliked sewing and knitting
and favoured cold baths and open windows - her energy and confidence,
her ability to command respect and inspire academic effort was an important
aspect of the school's steady drive towards its overwhelming success.
She died in 1932. |
Dorothy
Lawrence was the second daughter and third child of the Lawrence family
was born in 1860 in Wimbledon. She was ten when the family began its migrations
across Europe but returned to England to be sent to school for a year
with another year as a pupil teacher before enterin g
Bedford College London. She did not take her degree,and poor health cut
short her stay in London. Of the sisters hers was the least natural aptitude
for teaching, when a young women she liked to dance and play the piano;
her character was softer, she was witty charming and graceful, and adored
by her eleven younger siblings. Her health continued to be poor and she
gave up teaching in class in 1913 but remained devoted to the musical
life of the school appearing personally in productions of The Pirates
of Penzance and Iolanthe. Not a disciplinarian Dorothy brought
the other sides of success to Roedean, steadfastness, courage in the face
of ill health, duty. Yet she liked to listen to others and inspired love
and loyalty from her pupils. One O.R said of her ".....even a
short acquaintance with her was enough to give a extraordinary expression
of goodness! She died in 1933. |
Millicent
Lawrence was born in 1863 in Wimbledon, the fifth child and third
daughter of the family. She was vivacious and quick to learn, energetic,
acquiring early in life a love of Germany and the German language. Of
the sisters Millicent's was the most practical and businesslike character
, although she shared the family talent as a teacher. She was able to
inspire her pupils being particularly  comfortable
with mathematics and geography. She did not have a University education
but spent a year in teacher training at the Maria Grey Training College
(paid for by Penelope) acquiring the Cambridge Higher Local and Cambridge
Teachers' certificate before returning home to teach at the Fearegg House
school with her mother and Dorothy. Millicent took more interest in matters
outside the school than did her sisters ; she became involved in local
issues such as the state of the cliffs in Brighton, as well as Girl Guide
work and the Women's Suffrage Movement. She was a Trustee for the New
Sussex Hospital for Women and Children when in opened in 1921 But
it was Millicent's business capacity and grasp of the niceties of estate
management which laid the groundwork for the financial success of the
school in Sussex Square and then Roedean school. Always rigorous and enjoying
good health her death in 1925 was sudden and she had little time to enjoy
her retirement which she had shared with her lifelong friend Miss Brausewetter. |
| *Wimbledon, like Brighton, had many private schools including a High School for Girls run by The Girls Public Day School Trust. |
 |
|
Roedean
School now
|
|
Sources: A History of Roedean School 1885 - 1985 by Miss Butcher pub. 1985 Roedean School 1885 - 1955 by Dorothy E. de Zouche. Printed for private circulation in 1955. Thanks to: The staff and girls of Roedean School |
Back to:
A
quick glance at yet MORE Women who passed through Brighton
and Hove....
