Wellington College

Wellington College was granted a royal charter in 1853 as The Royal and Religious Foundation of the Wellington College, and was opened in 1859. Its first Master, which is the title of the headmaster, was Edward White Benson, who later became Archbishop of Canterbury. The college's Visitor was Queen Elizabeth II. Originally, the school educated sons of deceased officers who had held commissions in the Army. In 1952 a Supplementary Royal Charter extended the privilege of eligibility to the orphan sons of deceased officers of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force. By the 1960s, the school was considering becoming co-educational, but for some years a lack of financial resources…

The college buildings were designed by John Shaw, Jr., who had previously worked as an architect for Eton College. For its time, the design of the College was unusual compared to the popular form, but Prince Albert, who assisted in choosing the architect, was more interested in Shaw's classical approach, having already seen the architect's design for the old Royal Naval School in New Cross, London. The main buildings were designed in a style loosely termed "French Grand Rococo". The chapel, only half its originally intended size, was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott. There have been several modern buildings, the best of which follow Shaw's grand rococo style: for example, the new…

Wellington has sponsored the founding of a new independent state school in Wiltshire, The Wellington Academy, which opened in 2009, at the instigation of the former Master of the College, Sir Anthony Seldon.