History of the estate
Download
a pdf of History of the estate
Ownership of Woodlee
- 1872 John King Farlow acquires land fronting London Road
- 1876 Mansion and stables built; estate named Wood Lee
- 1894 Ownership passes to family trust on Farlow's death
- 1897 Leased to Ernest William Beckett, M.P. for Whitby
- 1907 Leased to Paul Nelke
- 1927 Acquired by Mrs Annabel Adora Maria Kruse
- 1930 Acquired by John Abraham Phillips, London property
developer
- 1940 Occupied by the Mechanisation Board of the War Office
department to test and service armoured vehicles
- 1945 Occupied by the Ministry of Labour & National Service
to provide accommodation for disabled ex-servicemen and
civilians. Woodlee continued to assess, train and rehabilitate
disabled or disadvantaged men and women as the Egham Rehabilitation
Centre until the 1990s
- 1992 Acquired by ACS International Schools.
The main house and grounds
John and Emily Farlow, who built the mansion house on the Wood Lee
estate, had 12 children, and the house was often used for parties,
including the girls' coming out balls. The various large rooms on
the ground floor were reception rooms, a billiards room, and a
boudoir.
Upstairs were up to 27 bedrooms, and on the third floor a
distinctive 'light room', with windows on three sides, used as a
workroom. Above this was an observatory from which the panorama of
surrounding countryside could be viewed.
Outside, a rose garden, Dutch garden, lavender walk and azalea and
rhododendron banks were established and kept immaculate by
groundsmen. Four greenhouses provided the mansion with peaches,
nectarines, grapes and figs, while a lake - well-stocked with fish
- was created in the field known as Bakeham Brooks. The legacy of
Farlow's outdoor creation remains to this day, with the lawns and
walled gardens beautifully maintained by ACS staff.
There was always a farm at Wood Lee. Doris Carr, a grand daughter
of John Farlow, recalled taking refreshments out to the haymakers
in her youth, and being squeamish about having to drink milk warm
from the cows. Farm buildings and accommodation, as well as the
duck pond, were at the Callow Hill end of the estate.
In the 1940s a number of huts were built on the back lawn of the
mansion house, when - according to the rate books - Woodlee served
as a 'residence and hutted hostel' for convalescing ex-servicemen.
These have long since been taken down.
More recently, significant renovation and development was carried
out on The Mews outbuildings adjacent to the house, which were
previously used as accommodation for coachmen, grooms, horses and
carriages. In 2008 they were converted into a state of the art
design & technology learning facility, named 'Maple', with
light and spacious classrooms that serve the needs of
students.
During the renovation of The Mews, a large stone plinth was
recovered, on which now sits an Armillary Sphere sundial, donated
to the school by ACS parents. Workmen also discovered a large
sandstone boulder, believed to have been moved from the sand bed by
glacial action during the last ice age. It can now be found sitting
in its own bed to the far left of the Maple building.
In 2011 we opened a new IB Diploma Centre and are in the process
of building a state-of-the-art sports facility in time fo the start
of the 2012/13 academic year.