Gothic Mansion The Castle Club to Become New Secondary School

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Public invited to see plans in March to return landmark building to its original use

Fulham's very own Gothic mansion, The Castle Club on Broomhouse Lane is to be restored and returned to use as a secondary school.

Property investment and development company The Thackerary Estate, which bought the building last year for £4,500,000 propose to restore the building and return it to school use as a secondary school for locally-based Fulham Prep School, together with additional facilities in an extension.

The Grade II listed Castle Club began its existence as a purpose-built school in 1855 and retained its educational use until its sale in 2008.

The Right Honourable Laurence Sulivan commissioned the building of a Ragged School, designed by architect Horace Francis in the Gothic Revival Style. It was called the Elizabethan School, in honour of Sulivan's wife Elizabeth, the younger sister of the Prime Minister Lord Palmerston. It later became a school for tubercular children run by the LCC and then the Eight Feathers youth club.

The Thackeray Estate say creating a new school will return the building to its original use and former glory as a landmark building within the local area.

Plans for the restoration of the Castle Club building, at the corner of Broomhouse Lane and Daisy Lane, SW6 will be on display at a Public Exhibition on 7 and 11 March.

The Public Exhibition will be at The Castle Club, entrance in Daisy Lane, on

• Tuesday 7th March, from 3.00pm – 8.00pm
and
• Saturday 11th March, from 10.00am – 2.00pm

Members of the Thackeray Estate professional team will be on hand to explain the proposal and to answer residents' questions.

A spokesman for The Thackeray Estate said: "This is a real opportunity to return a long-vacant listed building back to its original school use. We hope to submit a planning application to Hammersmith & Fulham Council later this year, but would very much like to hear residents’ comments beforehand. We look forward to sharing the plans with residents before we take the proposals further."

On its website, Fulham Prep School says:"We are delighted to be opening a Senior School within the Fulham Prep Schools family. The school will offer as diverse and broad a curriculum as is found in the existing schools with the aim of providing excellent educational opportunities to boys and girls through to school leaving age. Initially opening with Year 9, the Senior School will grow and occupy its own site with purpose built facilities."

February 24, 2017

February 24, 2017