Sir John Bunt, Lady Blunt and Bennett Memorial School

[npowell999]

Hi my daughter has a homework assignment to find out about Bennett Memorial school before it was a school and why it was made into a school.

I have found that Sir David Salomon father of Maud Julia Goldsmid-Stern-Salomons gave the house (now bennett memorial school tunbridge wells) to his daughter and her husband Sir John Harvey Blunt. I know the only Salomon heir died in WWII but I do not know why Sir John Blunt and Lady Blunt ended up giving the house up or what happened to it for it to become Bennett Memorial School?

I am now like a dog with a bone and really curious as to the answer

Many Thanks

[ShaunJ]

From the school's website:

"Our History

Bennett Memorial Diocesan School was founded on 17th October 1951 by Lady Elena Bennett and Bishop Christopher Chavasse of Rochester.  You can see the foundation stone laid by Lady Bennett at the end of the corridor outside the small hall.  Lady Bennett’s picture hangs above the school office in the Mansion Building.

Lady Bennett donated the money for the school which was named after her husband, Sir Thomas Bennett, who had recently died....."

http://www2.bennett.kent.sch.uk/index.php/aboutbennett-60/history

[npowell999]

My daughter is at the school and we have that but it does not say why they made it a school

[hanes teulu]

npowell999,
a very warm welcome to Rootschat. As part of your daughter's assignment, get her to check out the article in the Kent and Sussex Courier, 1 December 1950 "Future of Huntley's School Finally Assured". It details how the money was raised.

Access to this article is available at British Newspaper Archives or Find My Past newspapers (FindMyPast). Both are subscription sites but FindMyPast may be available (free) at your local library.

[Smokey807]

The connection between Sir David Salamons and Bennetts school is that Sir David owned what was referred to Huntley's Estate, a large mansion with many acres of land surrounding it. The school was built in the south west end of this large estate and no doubt the Salamons family donated the land for the school.