Description
Dulwich College arose out Alleyn's College of God's Gift founded in 1619 by theatre impresario Edward Alleyn. The school moved to the current site in 1870 when the main building, originally called New College, was built, designed in Italianate style by Charles Barry Jnr, son of the architect of the Houses of Parliament. The site was formerly part of Dulwich Common. Numerous new school buildings have been added since that time. A small strip of land of 0.5 hectares in front of Dulwich College remains commonland.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Alleyn's College of God's Gift |
|---|---|
| Site location | College Road |
| Postcode | SE21 |
| What3Words | ///sulk.repay.zones |
| Type of Site | Institutional Grounds |
| Borough | Southwark |
| Open to Public | Occasionally |
| Opening Times | Dulwich College has opened for London Open House. Otherwise private, school users/visitors only. |
| Public Transport | Rail: West Dulwich. Bus: P4, P13 |
| Research Updated | 1 April 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Dulwich College was founded by Edward Alleyn in 1619. A famous theatrical impresario, Alleyn was a partner in the Fortune Theatre by 1600, the rival to Shakespeare's Globe. He became wealthy as a result of his various activities, which included staging entertainments such as bear- and bull-baiting; in 1604 he was made Joint Master of the Royal Bears, Bulls and Mastiff Dogs. In 1605 he purchased the Manor of Dulwich for £35,000 from the then owner Sir Francis Calton, whose name is recalled in a street in Dulwich Village. Alleyn continued to live in London until 1613, staying at Dulwich in the summer. He then decided to establish a charitable foundation to be endowed with his property at Dulwich and elsewhere. On 21 June 1619 he was given license by James I to set up Alleyn's College of God's Gift and began building his Almshouses for 'six poor brothers and six poor sisters' and his School 'for twelve poor scholars'. All the beneficiaries were to be chosen from four parishes: St Giles' Camberwell and the 3 London parishes with which he was closely connected, St Botolph's Bishopsgate, St Saviour's Southwark and St Giles Cripplegate (q.q.v.), the latter replaced as nominating body by the new parish of St Luke's in 1773. The early name refers to the fact that entry depended on the successful young scholar drawing lots and getting the paper marked 'God's Gift'.
Alleyn had already built Christ's Chapel, which was consecrated in 1616 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Abbot, and the original buildings, albeit extended and re-modelled over the years, comprising the Old College, Almshouses and the Chapel, remain at the junction of Gallery Road and College Road, still partly used as almshouses. The gardens in front of the Old College, once part of the village green, have ornamental gates bearing Alleyn's coat of arms. Edward Alleyn died in 1626 and is buried in the chapel, as are other members of his family, Wardens and Masters of the College including the organist, Richard Dowell (d.1816). Alleyn left the majority of his estate to support the college he founded.
His charitable foundation underwent reorganisation over the years particularly as a result of the expansion of its educational provision by James Allen, who was Warden and Master of the College from 1712-1746. Rents from his properties in Kensington enabled 2 small schools to be set up in Dulwich after 1741, one for boys, and another for girls, the latter later becoming James Allen's Girls' School (q.v.). In 1842 the College set up a grammar school for 60 poor boys from Dulwich, who were joined by the earlier James Allen Foundation boys' school, later becoming the Lower College of God's Gift.
A new constitution was drawn up through the Dulwich College Act of 1857 and in 1870 the Old College, greatly enlarged, moved to new buildings further south down College Road, designed in Italianate style with terracotta detailing by Charles Barry Junior, who was architect to the Dulwich Estate for 28 years. It has been described as 'one of the most ambitious school rebuildings of the period' (Nikolaus Pevsner) and Barry's Gold Medal awarded by the RIBA in 1877 cited the New College at Dulwich among his notable works. The site was formerly part of Dulwich Common; money for the new building had been raised by the estate from the sale of some of its lands for building of new railway lines. In 1882 the Upper School became Dulwich College and the Lower School became Alleyn's School (q.v.), which moved to a new site in 1887. Numerous new school buildings have been added to Dulwich College since that time. A small strip of land of 0.5 hectares in front of Dulwich College remains commonland.
From 1882 2 separate boards of trustees were established, the Estates Governors who had responsibility for the Estate and Almshouses, and the College Governors who had responsibility for the schools, chapel and Dulwich Picture Gallery (q.v.), which had opened in 1814. In 1995 new arrangements came into being whereby the properties, investments and other estate activities now come under the Trustees of The Dulwich Estate, which today consists of nearly 608 hectares (1500 acres) and also acts as Trustees of the Charity of Christ's Chapel of God's Gift. Separate Boards of Governors were set up for Dulwich College, Alleyn's School and Dulwich Picture Gallery, with a separate board of Trustees of the Dulwich Almshouse Charity that still maintains links with the four parishes of the original foundation.
Alleyn had already built Christ's Chapel, which was consecrated in 1616 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Abbot, and the original buildings, albeit extended and re-modelled over the years, comprising the Old College, Almshouses and the Chapel, remain at the junction of Gallery Road and College Road, still partly used as almshouses. The gardens in front of the Old College, once part of the village green, have ornamental gates bearing Alleyn's coat of arms. Edward Alleyn died in 1626 and is buried in the chapel, as are other members of his family, Wardens and Masters of the College including the organist, Richard Dowell (d.1816). Alleyn left the majority of his estate to support the college he founded.
His charitable foundation underwent reorganisation over the years particularly as a result of the expansion of its educational provision by James Allen, who was Warden and Master of the College from 1712-1746. Rents from his properties in Kensington enabled 2 small schools to be set up in Dulwich after 1741, one for boys, and another for girls, the latter later becoming James Allen's Girls' School (q.v.). In 1842 the College set up a grammar school for 60 poor boys from Dulwich, who were joined by the earlier James Allen Foundation boys' school, later becoming the Lower College of God's Gift.
A new constitution was drawn up through the Dulwich College Act of 1857 and in 1870 the Old College, greatly enlarged, moved to new buildings further south down College Road, designed in Italianate style with terracotta detailing by Charles Barry Junior, who was architect to the Dulwich Estate for 28 years. It has been described as 'one of the most ambitious school rebuildings of the period' (Nikolaus Pevsner) and Barry's Gold Medal awarded by the RIBA in 1877 cited the New College at Dulwich among his notable works. The site was formerly part of Dulwich Common; money for the new building had been raised by the estate from the sale of some of its lands for building of new railway lines. In 1882 the Upper School became Dulwich College and the Lower School became Alleyn's School (q.v.), which moved to a new site in 1887. Numerous new school buildings have been added to Dulwich College since that time. A small strip of land of 0.5 hectares in front of Dulwich College remains commonland.
From 1882 2 separate boards of trustees were established, the Estates Governors who had responsibility for the Estate and Almshouses, and the College Governors who had responsibility for the schools, chapel and Dulwich Picture Gallery (q.v.), which had opened in 1814. In 1995 new arrangements came into being whereby the properties, investments and other estate activities now come under the Trustees of The Dulwich Estate, which today consists of nearly 608 hectares (1500 acres) and also acts as Trustees of the Charity of Christ's Chapel of God's Gift. Separate Boards of Governors were set up for Dulwich College, Alleyn's School and Dulwich Picture Gallery, with a separate board of Trustees of the Dulwich Almshouse Charity that still maintains links with the four parishes of the original foundation.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ333730 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 28.34 |
| Site Ownership | Dulwich College Board of Governors |
| Site Management | Dulwich College |
| Dates | 1619; 1866-70 |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: Dulwich College Main Building. LBII: gates and piers to east of Main Building; Dulwich Old College; Old Library; Entrance gates/piers of Dulwich Old College, Dulwich Toll House, Drinking fountain outside entrance of Old College |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | Yes: Common (CL133 land in front of college) |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Southwark |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Dulwich Wood/Dulwich Village |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | Yes |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
The site is part of the extensive Dulwich Estate. The Mill Pond stands near a busy road intersection in a small plot of land surrounded by railings and abuts the playing fields of Dulwich College. Pond Cottages, a row of picturesque C18th weather-boarded timber houses, were probably built to serve the tile kiln that was in operation here until the late C18th. Bricks and roof tiles were made in the C17th and C18th, the clay pit that provided the raw material later filled with water to become the pond. It is one of the few remaining traces of the River Effra stream system in Southwark. It was named after a windmill that had stood on the other side of College Road, demolished by the College in 1814/15. South of the Mill Pond and Pond Cottages is a small private garden with a catalpa planted in memory of George Clout (d.1962), the Estates Bailiff to the Dulwich College Estates from 1914-1957. The garden has railings to College Road and is laid out with lawn, hedges.
Oakfield was built in 1721, one of several C18th houses that back onto Dulwich Common, once a royal hunting ground used by Charles I and his courtiers. After the common was enclosed in 1805 further houses were built here. This is the only one that appears to have retained some of the C18th landscape features, in the form of a serpentine-shaped lake and several ruins. An C18th outbuilding in the north-west corner of No. 41 is now a separate dwelling.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Belair Park is a typical late C18th 'pocket estate' with a mansion, originally called College Place, a home farm and landscaped grounds, including a water feature created from the River Effra. Renamed Belair in c.1829, the estate remained in private ownership until 1938. In WWII house and grounds were requisitioned for wartime use, the grounds cultivated as allotments. After the war the estate was acquired by the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark as a quasi-country club facility accessible to Southwark residents, and the house was restored. When the new Borough of Southwark was created in 1965, controlled use of Belair ceased and it was opened as a public park. The mansion was let and has been run as a restaurant in recent years.
Belair Park is a typical late C18th 'pocket estate' with a mansion, originally called College Place, a home farm and landscaped grounds, including a water feature created from the River Effra. Renamed Belair in c.1829, the estate remained in private ownership until 1938. In WWII house and grounds were requisitioned for wartime use, the grounds cultivated as allotments. After the war the estate was acquired by the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark as a quasi-country club facility accessible to Southwark residents, and the house was restored. When the new Borough of Southwark was created in 1965, controlled use of Belair ceased and it was opened as a public park. The mansion was let and has been run as a restaurant in recent years.
