Battersea Grammar School - House System

House System

A system of four houses was established in 1907. The houses were known as:

  • St John's – named after the founder of the original school, Sir Walter St John.
  • Bolingbroke – from Sir Walter's grandson, Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke.
  • Spencer – after the Lord of the Manor of Battersea (the Battersea estate was purchased from the St John family in 1763 by John Viscount Spencer).
  • Trinity – named after a church in the district.

In 1919 two additional houses were created:

  • Erskine – after Canon John Erskine Clarke, the former Vicar of Battersea and member of the Sir Walter St John Trust at the time of the establishment of the school.
  • Dawnay – after Sir Archibald Davis Dawnay, who had been Mayor of Wandsworth from 1908 until his death on 23 April 1919, and was a benefactor of the school.

House colours were: St John's - dark blue; Bolingbroke - yellow; Spencer - green; Trinity - red; Erskine - pale blue; Dawnay - purple

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