History of Bryanston Prep

Knighton was enlarged for the first time in 1830 and became the Dower House for the Portman family of Bryanston. In 1857 the house was further enlarged for the 1st Viscount’s eldest son, William Henry Berkeley Portman. In 1888 he inherited the title and moved to Bryanston House.

From 1893 the second daughter, Susan Alice lived and brought up her family at Knighton.

In about 1920 Frances, Lady Portman, widow of the 2^nd Viscount moved to live at Knighton until her death in 1939.

In 1940 the fifth son of the second Viscount, Seymour Berkeley Portman, moved into Knighton. He died in 1946 and the house remained empty until 1948 when Gerald William, Lord Portman’s eldest son, moved in with his wife. They vacated the house in June 1950 after the estate was acquired by the Crown Estate.

John and Peggy Booker started a Girls’ Preparatory School at Knighton shortly after. They had been running another school near Ilminster and Knighton became their home.

The intention was always that the school be for girls only, but because the Bookers moved some boys and girls from their previous school, the boys were allowed to stay on for two years.

Soon after the Crown Estate acquired Knighton House, the lease was offered to Bryanston School. This opportunity came on the heels of the recent success of the independent Cranborne Chase School, a girls’ school founded by Bryanston teacher Betty Galton, as a companion school to Bryanston. The founding of Cranborne Chase was significantly supported by Bryanston’s leadership, with the Chair of Governors, Lord Verulam and the Bursar, playing key roles in its establishment.

With this experience and recognising the potential of Knighton House, with its perfectly proportioned house and grounds, Bryanston’s governors and Bursar quickly set a plan in motion to create a new school on the site. The goal: to establish a preparatory school that could accommodate 50 pupils.

With high hopes for maintaining a close relationship with Bryanston School, John and Peggy Booker (see photo) were appointed as the joint Headmaster and Headmistress of the new Knighton House School. The Bookers were experienced educators, having previously managed a school near Ilminster. Under their guardianship, Knighton House opened its doors as an independent school in September 1950.

Between 1950 and 2014 the School leased its premises from the Crown Estate.

• 1978 – saw the opening of the Pre-Prep
• 1985 – Jean Bosie Hall opened
• 1988 – Booker Music School opened

In September 2015 at the 65th anniversary of the school, it was announced that Knighton had bought the freehold of the site outright.

In 2020, Bryanston School purchased Knighton’s freehold site, restoring it as part of the original Portman Estate for the first time in almost a century.

Also in 2020, Knighton decided to make the move to co-education. Other than a few boys that had attended in the pre-prep, this became the first time that boys were welcomed back to the school for the first time in over 60 years.

On 1 September 2021, Knighton House merged with Bryanston School and the prep school was renamed Bryanston Knighton House.

On 1 September 2022, Bryanston Knighton House was renamed Bryanston Prep.