Southbroom House

When John Drew occupied the estate in 1501 it consisted of the house, a dovehouse, a small park, orchards, and gardens.

Their son, John Drew, died soon after inheriting the estate, leaving the remaining property to his widow who, in 1664, married Sir Henry Andrews, 1st Baronet, of Lathbury.

[4][5] George and Maria's son Josiah Eyles Heathcote died in 1811 and the estate was sold in 1812 to William Salmon.

He left the town and sold the estate, which then consisted of the house, a private golf course, a park with a small maze, and rare trees and plants to Sir Horace Westropp McMahon.

In the days when the Eyles family owned the house the attics had one main use, to provide a place to sleep for the servants.

The original building dating mainly from 1773 is of Bath stone ashlar and consists of a two-story central block flanked by much lower service wings.

The wings have been considerably altered but retain a few original round-headed openings on the ground floor with some oval windows above.

In 1936, a new block was added to the Heathcote House section to form a Handicraft Centre and Science Laboratory.

The school continued to expand and in 1937 a kitchen and canteen were opened to provide hot dinners for the children.

The Devizes Day Nursery was built in the grounds as an emergency measure; this became redundant in 1947 and provided extra accommodation for the school.