In his will he decreed that if the child of his daughter be a girl, then his mansion house be turned into a free school for the poor children of Cranbrook.

In 2003 alumnus Piers Sellers, a NASA astronaut, took a copy of the school charter into space with him.

This observatory houses the 22.5-inch Alan Young telescope operated by the Cranbrook and District Science and Astronomy Society (CADSAS).

[4] The subsequent refurbishment twenty years later in 1996 was financed by a generous grant from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, the Lottery Agency and by the Governors of the School, to capitalise upon the venue’s ability to attract visiting Arts Companies of a high calibre to the local area.

[10] The building is well equipped with state-of-the-art technical equipment and includes a large retractable cinema screen, a comprehensive lighting rig including intelligent moving fixtures, and a high-quality sound system.