Handel College was established by Aaron Harvey, who had come to Southampton in 1858 to take up a post as a teacher in All Saints School. In 1863 he left to set up a school at his house in Anglesea Place and later in Prospect Place, both in Above Bar Street. He was a talented musician and music featured prominently in the curriculum. He was conductor of the Southampton Philharmonic Society and organist and choirmaster at St Peter’s Church. His interest in music obviously influenced his choice of name for the new school. He retired in 1895 and his son the Reverend Frank Northam Harvey, who had previously assisted his father in running the school, took over. In 1897 he transferred the college from Above Bar to a large property in the Polygon. A nearby house called Polygon Lodge became Harvey's family home, while a three-storey mid-19th century house was adapted for use as the school house. In 1912 Handel College was taken over by Hurst Leigh School, previously situated in Archers Road, but now relocated to the Polygon. The school was demolished after World War Two. Handel Road and Handel Terrace in the Polygon were named after the school's original name.
Hurst Leigh School (previously Handel College)
Photograph, 1941.
Further reading:
More Stories of Southampton Streets, by A. G. K. Leonard, p14-18. (HS/h)
Navigation
Browse A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y-Z
Get Involved
If you wish to
- suggest additional information for this entry
- suggest amendments to this entry
- offer your own research
- make a comment
then fill in the form on the Contact page.