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The Ladies Charity School in London, England, was originally founded in Highgate c1680 as a charity school for forty orphans by the merchant William Blake (d.1696). After his death, it was revived and extended in 1702, and after relocating across London, was taken over by the Church Army as a training school in 1919.

Early history

The school was founded by the London merchant draper William Blake, who, after the death in 1650 of his wife Mary, was inspired by the writing of Bishop Lewis Bayly to provide for orphans.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

William spent £5000, his entire wealth, on setting up the Ladies Charity School House (or Hospital). His vision was to house and education forty orphans, boys and girls: ‘The boys to be taught the art of painting, gardening, casting accounts, and navigation, or put forth to some good handicraft trade, and to wear an uniform of blue lined with yellow. The girls to be taught to read, write, sew, starch, raise paste, and dress, that they might be fit for any good service’. Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

To try to maintain the school, Blake sold his Highgate home to Sir William Ashhurst, and houses at 1-6 South Grove (mortgaged from his brother), to Sir Francis Pemberton. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol6/pp189-199 He published a pious book ‘’Silver Drops’’ to appeal to noble ladies, but ultimately failed to secure lasting funding. Blake was imprisoned for debt 1685-1687, and died in 1696. Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Supporters included Dr Johnson and Hester Thrale. By 1827, the school had moved to 37 King Street, Smithfield (present day Snow Hill) and by 1853 was operating at 30 John Street, Bloomsbury, near Bedford Row, with attendance of 51 Protestant girls aged 8-14.

In c1882, the school relocated from 22 Queen Square, Bloomsbury, to Powis House, 16 Powis Gardens, North Kensington. Its mission had changed from orphans to the daughters of respectable but impoverished families, who paid towards their education: girls were trained for domestic service and left school at age 15. In 1919, the Powis House premises were taken over by the Church Army, who used it as a training home for girls aged 14 to 18.

References

1. Marks, PJM. "'True nobility of soul' - William Blake, the housekeeper of the Ladies Charity School House, Highgate". British Library. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
2. "Ladies Charity School, London". Children's Homes. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
3. "Hornsey, including Highgate: Highgate A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6, Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey With Highgate". British History Online. Retrieved 5 January 2025.

Template:Schools in London

• Educational institutions established in 1680
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