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CHARLES PRICHARD
CLAPHAM [GRAMMAR] SCHOOL
Clapham Grammar School
Park Hill
Clapham Park
Photos
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George Howard Darwin and Francis Darwin were both sons of Charles Darwin who attended Clapham Grammar School. George was there from the age of 11, while Francis attended later.
George Darwin:
He was the fifth child of Charles and Emma Darwin. He studied under Charles Pritchard at Clapham Grammar School, before going on to Trinity College, Cambridge.
Francis Darwin:
He was the seventh child and third son of Charles and Emma Darwin. He also attended Clapham Grammar School, after which he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Clapham Grammar School:
This school, founded in 1834, was known for its emphasis on science, which appealed to Charles Darwin, who was not a fan of the traditional classical education common in public schools at the time, according to UCL Discovery.
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Leonard Darwin was born in 1850 at Down House, Kent, into the wealthy Darwin–Wedgwood family. He was the fourth son and eighth child of the naturalist Charles Darwin and his wife Emma Wedgwood, and the last of Darwin's immediate offspring to die. He considered himself the least intelligent of their children – brothers Frank, George and Horace were all elected Fellows of the Royal Society. He was sent to Clapham School in 1862.
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NB Leonard became closely associated with the (mainly entomological) illustrator, Edwin Wilson (ex-Trinity Road, Halbrake School etc)
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Reverend Charles Pritchard (29 February 1808 – 28 May 1893) was a British astronomer, clergyman, and educational reformer. He founded the Clapham Grammar School in 1834 and included sciences in the curriculum. A chapel was erected in 1846.[1]
... From 1834 to 1862 he was headmaster of Clapham grammar school.
etc etc
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Charles Pritchard, headmaster of a private school in Stockwell in 1833, was an astronomer. He was educated at Merchant Taylors School and Christ’s Hospital and gained his degree from Cambridge in 1832. He then turned his attention to educational reform. In 1834 he moved from Stockwell to Clapham grammar school, which was founded to give him an opportunity to try out new educational methods. A keen amateur astronomer, he did some useful astronomical work at the school and in 1862 he became the Honorary Secretary to the Royal Astronomical Society and its President in 1866. In 1870 he was elected Savilian professor of astronomy at Oxford. In 1892 he was awarded a royal medal for his work on photometry and stellar parallax.
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See also info in this about Mantell, also the Clapham Athenaeum beginnings
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Bland's map of Clapham Parish 1849
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I have a copy - and sent one to Mike Tuffrey in 2025
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VG Intro. to book on Darwin-Inspired Learning that refers to Clapham Grammar School
Reiss_Introduction_Darwin_Inspired_Learning.pdf
Darwin-Inspired Learning flyer.pdf
Mike-Corbishley-Darwin-and-education.pdf
In Chapter 9, Mike Corbishley reviews the ways in which evidence-based learning has developed since Darwin’s time. In most schools in England at that time learning was by rote. The important subjects were the three Rs and scripture.
Charles Darwin was not happy with the emphasis in the public schools (i.e. the famous fee-paying, independent schools) on classics and all but the eldest of his five sons were sent to Clapham Grammar School, which had been founded in 1834 because the headmaster [Charles Prichard] was an enthusiastic supporter of the sciences. Darwin was a geologist before he was a biologist and he was well aware of developments in archaeological research, in particular the establishment of a chronology for prehistoric times based on scientific analysis and fieldwork. Corbishley goes on to show how archaeology teaching, whether in schools or outside of schools, can manifest a careful examination of evidence and respect for objects of which Darwin would have approved.
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The Clapham Society
44. Clapham Scientists – adding to the tally 31st January 2025
By Timothy M M Baker.
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