Rev John Haslam DD was Proprietor/Headmaster of Turton Hall School from 1873 and when the lease ran out in 1898 he purchased land and built New College in Harrogate for £10,000.

[2] New College was located 20 minutes' walk from Harrogate railway station, in one of the healthiest part of town.

It was situated on the brow of a hill, sloping southward, about 450 feet above sea level, and commanding extensive views of the district.

Typically trips were arranged abroad (for masters and boys) to climb the Matterhorn or to fly to Paris, on a Handley Page aircraft, from Croydon airport.

[5] The school could accommodate 80 boys and stood in a wooded estate of 27 acres and included a gym, extensive playing fields, a quad and a "Jungle".