According to the terms of the will, the beneficiaries were to be daughters of members of the Church of England,[2] between eight and twelve years of age, born in Salisbury or some other Wiltshire town, and to have had "some portion left to them but not exceeding £400".

The new charity was initially to be administered by her nephew William Godolphin and his heirs,[2] The dean and chapter declined to take on the task[2] on the grounds that the idea of educating women was "mere foolery and dreaming".

"[citation needed] The school did not open its doors until 9 August 1784, when it was set up in Rosemary Lane, in the Cathedral Close, Salisbury.

promised a regime of early rising, "agreeable exercise" and a diet of wholesome books "such as enlarge the heart to Virtue and excellency of Sentiment".

In 1891, the distinctive red-brick building on the top of Milford Hill was opened at a cost of £4,000, and in the years that followed several new boarding houses were added.