Howley Grange

The school site was for centuries, a Grange-or
farmhouse with storage space for grain- and was
worked and owned by the monks of Hales Owen
Abbey. As it was the roosting- place of many owls
the monks called it Owley Grange.

The monks left Hales Owen in 1539 when Henry
the VIII closed the Abbey. But the farm continued
to prosper, and the land was in agricultural use
until our school was first sited.

Howley Grange is associated with the flight of
Prince Charles from the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
Here, Charles hid up the huge chimney whilst the
Parliamentary soldiers- Cromwell’s Ironsides
searched the house. They suspected this
hiding- place and thrust a fifteen-foot long
pikestaff up the chimney. 

However, it missed the royal fugitive’s body and disturbed an owl, which flew into the room, blinking in the daylight. The disgruntled Ironsides then left the house and the owl had saved the future king’s life.

One report of this story claims that the pikestaff (another account calls it a sword) was still at Howley Grange as recently as 1915 but we have been unable to trace it.

Recently whilst work was being done on some of the school grounds an ancient cannon-ball was unearthed.. we are wondering what else may be under the school.