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Dover: Lock and Key of the Kingdom
Castlemount
Castlemount was built in 1876 by Mr W J Adcock for Mr
Robert Chignell, to accommodate the school he had originally
opened on the site of Dover College. The house was a
substantial mansion with many gables, built of red brick with
stone embellishments. The main entrance to the property
was from Laureston Place.
After the house was completed, Mr Chignell had the grounds
terraced, with lawns and the perimeter planted with trees,
and in a few years the barren hillside assumed a park-like
appearance. On certain days during the summer Mr Chignell
opened his grounds to the public, and it was the public
appreciation of this privilege that suggested the idea of
Connaught Park.
Mr Chignell eventually left Dover and by 1891 the
preparatory school for boys was being run by Reverend
Thomas Chirol. In 1911, it was taken over by French monks
known as Les Frères des Ecoles Chrétiennes who came to
England because of an anti-clerical movement in France and
established it as a training centre for teachers.
At the outbreak of the First World War the monks left Dover
and the house was commandeered by the military for use as
barracks. In December 1914 the building had a narrow
escape as the first bomb dropped from and aeroplane on the
United Kingdom fell barely a yard from the perimeter wall.
The monks returned after the war and it was from this time
that the ghost stories began. It is said the school was
haunted by a ghost known as the Black Monk. The monks left
Dover for the last time on the outbreak of the Second World
War. In 1940 the RAF took over Castlemount as the HQ for a
barrage balloon squadron.
After the war the building was taken over by Kent Education
Committee and turned into the mixed secondary school which
opened in 1948. The school was enlarged in the mid 1960s
when much needed additional accommodation was added.
In June 1973 the main building (the original 1876 house) was
devastated by fire, believed to be arson. The school
continued in temporary classrooms on the site and rebuilding
was completed in 1977.
Castlemount was closed in June 1991, with most pupils
transferring to Astor School. Plans for the use of the old
school, including the boys and girls grammar schools
combining on the site, came to nothing. The buildings were
demolished and the site re-developed with houses now
known as Monastery Avenue.
Robert Chignell, to accommodate the school he had originally
opened on the site of Dover College. The house was a
substantial mansion with many gables, built of red brick with
stone embellishments. The main entrance to the property
was from Laureston Place.
After the house was completed, Mr Chignell had the grounds
terraced, with lawns and the perimeter planted with trees,
and in a few years the barren hillside assumed a park-like
appearance. On certain days during the summer Mr Chignell
opened his grounds to the public, and it was the public
appreciation of this privilege that suggested the idea of
Connaught Park.
Mr Chignell eventually left Dover and by 1891 the
preparatory school for boys was being run by Reverend
Thomas Chirol. In 1911, it was taken over by French monks
known as Les Frères des Ecoles Chrétiennes who came to
England because of an anti-clerical movement in France and
established it as a training centre for teachers.
At the outbreak of the First World War the monks left Dover
and the house was commandeered by the military for use as
barracks. In December 1914 the building had a narrow
escape as the first bomb dropped from and aeroplane on the
United Kingdom fell barely a yard from the perimeter wall.
The monks returned after the war and it was from this time
that the ghost stories began. It is said the school was
haunted by a ghost known as the Black Monk. The monks left
Dover for the last time on the outbreak of the Second World
War. In 1940 the RAF took over Castlemount as the HQ for a
barrage balloon squadron.
After the war the building was taken over by Kent Education
Committee and turned into the mixed secondary school which
opened in 1948. The school was enlarged in the mid 1960s
when much needed additional accommodation was added.
In June 1973 the main building (the original 1876 house) was
devastated by fire, believed to be arson. The school
continued in temporary classrooms on the site and rebuilding
was completed in 1977.
Castlemount was closed in June 1991, with most pupils
transferring to Astor School. Plans for the use of the old
school, including the boys and girls grammar schools
combining on the site, came to nothing. The buildings were
demolished and the site re-developed with houses now
known as Monastery Avenue.
