Brockhurst and Marlston House School

The house lies on a historic site, and the seat of a manor, being occupied by a house from the Elizabethan era. At one point the manor was held by Richard Wightwick, who co-founded Pembroke College of the University of Oxford. By 1855 the house was occupied by Henry Mill Bunbury, who had the house remodelled by Mr. W. Butterfield. The current Marlston House was built between 1895 and 1899 by Edward Burgess in the Elizabethan style to replace that remodelled house. It was built for George Palmer, who was one of the founders of the Huntley & Palmers biscuit factory, mayor of the nearby town of Reading, and Member of Parliament for Reading. After George Palmer died in 1897, the house was occupied by his son, George William Palmer, who was also mayor of, and Member of Parliament for, Reading. The house has been used as a school since 1945. It was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1983. ==The school==

The school comprises twin parts, known as Brockhurst (boys) and Marlston House (girls). In 2018 they had 311 pupils from the ages three to thirteen. Brockhurst was founded in 1884 as a boys' boarding prep school at Church Stretton in Shropshire. In 1942 it moved to Broughton Hall near Eccleshall in Staffordshire. In 1945 it moved again, to its current home, becoming co-educational in 1995. In 2009 Country Life magazine included Brockhurst and Marlston House School among the best countryside preparatory schools of Great Britain. In 2018 the school was rated 'Excellent' in all categories by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. The politician Michael Heseltine was a pupil at the school when it was at Broughton Hall, Staffordshire. ==Notable former pupils==

• Frederick Corfield (1915–2005), politician • Julian Critchley (1930–2000), journalist, author and politician • Arthur Leyland Harrison (1886–1918), Royal Navy officer, and World War I recipient of the Victoria Cross • Michael Heseltine (b. 1933), politician ==See also==