EPW040896 ENGLAND (1933). The Merchant Taylors' School and environs, Moor Park, 1933

Merchant Taylors' School, Sandy Lodge, Northwood, Middlesex, was founded in 1561 and was located in the City of London (Suffolk Lane) until it moved to Charterhouse Square, Finsbury, in 1875. The need for more space led to its re-location at Sandy Lodge, a greenfield site of 256 acres, close to the Metropolitan Railway line and handily situated between Watford and Rickmansworth, on the north-west side of Greater London. This photograph was taken at the completion of the new school, which was officially opened on June 12, 1933.



Between the River Colne and the LMS Rickmansworth Branch Railway line, in the right background, is the familiar white, modern (Art Deco front elevation) Asbestos Works on Tolpits Lane, which was to play a large part in the construction of Britain for the next half-century. On the right-hand margin of the picture is one of several wet-pits in the area, where the extraction of vast amounts of river gravel was used for the construction of Metroland-type suburbia, including Wembley Stadium (1923) and the British Empire Exhibition (1924/25). The early stage of the formation of Hampermill Lake (1938) is depicted here and a second feature was created by 1960.



The medium-sized, independent school continues to thrive eighty years later, but the factory was closed in 1985.