|
A brief history of the
Old Beneficial School
In 1754 in the Shakespeare's
Head, John Shakespear and five other gentleman
formed the Beneficial Society, whose initial purpose
was to support each other in times of affliction. A
shilling a month was collected and the money was
kept safely in a chest which had 5 locks. The
society decided that on the occasion of there being
more money than was needed for the initial
intention, it would be used to help to school poor
children from the local area of Portsea.
In 1784, a plot of land was
purchased in Old Rope Walk for the princely sum of
£280. On this land was built the impressive building
that still stands here today, fondly known as the
Old Benny. The downstairs hall was then used as the
classroom while the upstairs hall was kept available
by the Society for meetings, concerts and theatre.
In 1812, a heavily pregnant
Elizabeth Dickens was attending a dance in this very
hall when she went into labour. She was rushed to
her home in Old Commercial Road where she gave birth
to her son, Charles Dickens.
A former student of this
establishment emigrated to Australia in 1840 and was
7 times Premier of South Australia. This was Sir
Henry Ayres after whom Ayres Rock was famously
named.
In 1939 the school was
closed due to the outbreak of World War 2 and was
re-opened in 1945 under Portsmouth City Council as a
junior school. During the War a nazi sympathiser was
caught on the roof directing bombers with a
flashlight to the dockyard.
Punishment at the
Beneficial School was severe and at times there was
a more Naval Punishment administered with the use of
the birch. The young lad would have to drop his
trousers and then be held up tight against one of
the wooden pillars in the downstairs hall to receive
his punishment.
The school was finally in
1962, when the building became a youth training
centre until 2004 when a fire nearly destroyed he
building. On 20th May 2010 the building opened as
Groundlings Theatre, ready to host its drama school,
wardrobe, education centre and offering an exciting
new arts space for Portsmouth and the Local
community.
The Old Benny is also One
of Portsmouth's most haunted buildings, playing host
to several friendly spirits. You may hear little
George on the staircase or Emily in the schoolroom,
but remember to be silent in front of Headmaster
Archibald Mills.
| 
