The History Of Tonbridge School
Past, Present and Future > The History Of Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School was founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde, under Letters Patent of King Edward
VI. The Charter ordained that the Governors of the school after the death of the Founder were to be
the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest City Livery Companies. Sir Andrew, himself
a distinguished member of this Company, left property in the City of London and in the parish of St
Pancras as an endowment for the school. The income from these estates is at the disposal of the
Governors for the general benefit of the Foundation. The memory of Sir Andrew Judde and other
benefactors is honoured in an annual Commemoration Service, held on Skinners' Day at the very end
of the Summer Term.The school occupies an extensive site of about 150 acres on the northern edge of the town of Tonbridge, and is largely self-contained within that site. Since the foundation the school has been rebuilt twice on the original site.
The main buildings of the present school date from the second half of the nineteenth century, a time in which the school grew considerably in size and importance. There has been much further building in the twentieth century, notably the Music School (1927), the Smythe Library (1962), the new School House (1990), and most of the sporting and athletic facilities. The magnificent restoration of the Edwardian Chapel, which had been severely damaged by fire in 1988, was completed in October 1995. Its superb new 4-manual organ, built by Marcussen of Denmark, is widely regarded as one of the finest instruments in the country. A £20 million development programme, involving both new buildings and the creation of additional or improved facilities within the existing buildings, was initiated in 1991. The first phase of this programme, resulting in new and enlarged accommodation for three academic departments and new reception and conference rooms, was completed in 1992, and a new Biology Department was built in 1993. The second phase included a new social centre (The Orchard Centre) and a Lecture Theatre, both completed in 1994. In the third phase, a major Arts and Technology complex (the Vere Hodge Centre), providing spacious new accommodation for Art, Technology, Electronics, and Computing, as well as a substantial extension of the Music facilities, was opened in the summer of 1996. The planned addition to the Vere Hodge Centre of a Theatre complex (the E. M. Forster Theatre) with a main auditorium for 400, a Studio Theatre, a theatre workshop, and teaching rooms was completed in summer 2000, resulting in a unique combined and integrated facility for all the creative and practical subjects and the performing arts.