[1] The school was designed by the Birmingham architect John George Bland in a Venetian gothic style of red brick and is a grade 2 listed building.

[3] The foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII) on 11th July 1863, who subsequently opened it on 18th June 1866.

[4] The event was attended by the school's president Prime Minister, Earl Russell, the mayor of London and the Bishop of Winchester, among others.

[4] The boarding school was built on behalf of Warehousemen and Clerks[5] for the education of orphans and necessitous children, which had outgrown Hatcham Grove House at New Cross.

[8] Croydon's population growth and finite water sources meant there was a risk that peak demand could not be met, particularly during droughts.