Allhallows College

: "This article is about Allhallows College in Devon, England, formerly called Allhallows School. For All Hallows College in Dublin, Ireland, see All Hallows College. For All Hallows' School in Brisbane, Australia, see All Hallows' School." Allhallows College, previously known as Allhallows School, was an independent boys 'public school' in Devon, England, predominantly boarding.

The school was founded in about 1515 in Honiton, for which reason its former pupils are known as Old Honitonians, or OHs.

By the 1930s with the increase in traffic through Honiton on the main route to the west this was becoming a serous hazard with school premises on both sides of the main road. The headmaster, George Shallow, found an large empty Victorian mansion on the coast at Rousdon a few miles to the West of Lyme Regis. Lyme is in Dorset but the school was well over the county boundary in Devon. However the postal address was Nr. Lyme Regis, Dorset, which has led to confusion.

The building was a few hundred yards from the cliff-edge overlooking the massive landslip from 1839 and had extensive grounds, even if the location was remote. Inevitably not all the necessary facilities were there and though improvement work started this was brought to a halt by World War II. The school was not to acquire a proper gymn, swimming pool or cricket pavilion until some years after the war.

One periodic problem was the 'Rousdon special', a thick white mist which would descend on the area from time to time because of its high location near the sea. This may have been why the building had been abandoned by the previous owner. Two interesting features were some fine mosaic floors in the main passages and a remarkable collection of stuffed birds in large glass cases along some corridors which had been collecetd by the original owner.

In the decade after the war the school acquired a national reputation in shooting, winning the inter-schools Asburton trophy several times. This was thanks to the work of James Turner who had been a pupil at the school and then after university joined the staff as chemistry master. During the war he had worked on ballistics and he used this knowledge to train a series of first-class shots. He stayed with the school all his life, ending up with a short spell in the headmaster's chair, and then in retirement raising funds. He was one of several masters who devoted their lives to the school including G.S Napier ('Nap') who spent over a hundred terms there after World War I.

Around 1970 the school became one of the first public schools to admit girls and it prospered into the 80s. However in the 90s it went into decline and the number of pupils decreased significantly from almost 300 to less than half that. A reason may have been the remote location at a time when parents expected to see a lot more of their children than had been traditional in the old public school era. It closed, apparently bankrupt, in 1998.

The estate is now used for the purpose of private housing.

Famous Old Allhallows Boys. Old Honitonians.

* Guy Acland. (Army officer)
* Sean Day-Lewis. Journalist on Daily Telegraph.
* Arthur Travers Harris. ('Bomber' Harris of World WarII)
* David Holmes (BBC reporter and senior executive).
* Nicholas Pennell (Actor)
* Richard van der Riet Wooley. Astronomer Royal.

ources

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/education/school_tables_1998/england/8786005.html Education: School League Tables for 1998]
* [http://www.oldhonitonians.com Old Honitonians website]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QynaZQ6Rt9U Video]
* [http://www.art-racing.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=11098 Photos]