Kimbolton School

The school is the successor to the village grammar school and although there are references to a school at Kimbolton as early as 1531, the generally accepted date for its foundation is 1600. It originally occupied buildings within the churchyard, but moved to new premises in Tilbrook Road in the late 19th century. In 1949 its named was changed from Kimbolton Grammar School to Kimbolton School, and the following year it bought Kimbolton Castle from the Duke of Manchester. The Senior School is based in the grounds of the Castle, while the Preparatory School is based at the other end of the village and connected to the senior school by 'The Duchess Walk', a tree-lined avenue. The school…

The Castle was bought by Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester, in 1615. His descendants owned the castle until it was sold in 1950. Charles Edward Montagu, the 4th Earl, who was created 1st Duke of Manchester in 1719, had reconstruction works carried out between 1690 and 1720. Sir John Vanbrugh and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor redesigned the facades of the Castle in a classical style, but with battlements to evoke its history as a castle, the portico was later added by Alessandro Galilei. The Venetian painter Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini redecorated some of the reconstructed rooms in 1708. These rooms included the main staircase, now called the Pellegrini Staircase, and the chapel.…