St Lawrence College, Ramsgate

St. Lawrence College is a traditional co-educational independent school situated in Ramsgate, Kent and has been established as a "public school" ever since it was founded.

History

The college was founded in 1879 as South Eastern College (colours: gold and black). The name was changed because of the association with the Railway network to St Lawrence College by its location in the St Lawrence area of Ramsgate. New colours were also given: maroon and white. The school rapidly outgrew the single house, leading to the main building of the present day college by 1884. The chapel was completed in 1927. During the world wars, the school was evacuated to Chester (1915) and Courteenhall in Northamptonshire (1940), seat of Sir Herewood Wake, because of its position on the South-East coast. Later in the school's existence, girls were admitted, and the current mix of sexes is now roughly equal. There were initially 4 houses:- Light Red, Dark Red, Light Blue and Dark Blue. These became Grange, Tower, Manor and Lodge. During WWII a fifth house was added called Courtenay when a nearby school having failed to maintain numbers was incorporated into the school. Newlands was later added for day scholars and Deacon followed as the Junior end of this house.

St. Lawrence College

St. Lawrence College is the name of more than one educational institution:

See also

Ramsgate

Coordinates: 51°20′10″N 1°24′58″E / 51.336°N 1.416°E / 51.336; 1.416

Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. As of 2001 it had a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate’s main attraction is its coastline, and its main industries are tourism and fishing. The town has one of the largest marinas on the English south coast, and the Port of Ramsgate has provided cross-channel ferries for many years.

History

Ramsgate began as a fishing and farming hamlet.

The Christian missionary St Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great, landed near Ramsgate in 597AD. The town is home to the Shrine of St Augustine.

The earliest reference to the town is in the Kent Hundred Rolls of 1274-5, both as Remmesgate (in the local personal name of ‘Christina de Remmesgate’) and Remisgat (with reference to the town). The names Ramisgate and Raunsgate appear in the parish of St. Laurence records circa 1290. These are all derived from late Anglo-Saxon ‘Hremmes’ from earlier ‘Hræfnes’ (raven’s) and ‘geat’ (gate), with reference to the gap in the cliffs. In 1357, the area became known as Ramesgate.

Ramsgate (disambiguation)

Ramsgate is the name of the following places: