Beechwood Park’s History

Beechwood Park occupies an elevated position in beautiful parkland on the outskirts of Markyate. The history of Beechwood Park is a long one; the buildings are part of a rich and varied history that involves Henry VIII, Edward VI, Sir John Tregonwell, Sir Richard Page, and King Charles I and II (Sir Edward Sebright was a standard-bearer for Charles I in the English Civil War).

There were 15 Sebright Baronets in all, some of the Members of Parliament and others equerries to the Royal Household. Lady Olive Sebright was a personal friend of Queen Mary, consort of King George V. Queen Mary visited Beechwood Park a number of times and photographs in the school’s archive show her at luncheon in the Great Hall in 1948.

Beechwood Park School opened on October 8th 1964. The school was formed from the combination of Shirley House in Watford and Heath Brow School in Hemel Hempstead. Originally an all-boys boarding school, Beechwood Park first admitted girls in September 1993. Over the years the Junior and Middle Departments have been added and in 2005 Beechwood Park extended its provision to include children of nursery age by acquiring the Nursery at Little Cheverells.

And so the school continues to evolve, each and every year we make developments and changes to our facilities to maintain our high standards.

Archaeologists digging at the site of the new Woodlands Nursery discovered what is believed to be the entrance to an Iron Age enclosure, further extending the history of Beechwood Park.