(Photo credit to the New York Public Library Digital Collections)

The Wellington House Academy was a classical and commercial academy located on Hampstead road in London. Classical academies are known for values of virtue and tradition. Classical academies also prioritize the authority of the teacher. The strict, traditional, and authoritarian aspects of a classical academy are sure to leave a strong imprint on the attending students as shown in the work of Charles Dickens. Commercial academies, on the other hand, focus on preparing students for the work force and are also known to be strict. Charles Dickens attended the Wellington House Academy in 1824. The school’s headmaster, William Jones, was known to be strict and sadistic, as is consistent with the roles of most teachers in classical and commercial academies. William Jones is speculated to have been the primary influence of the character Mr.Creakle in Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield. While Dickens regarded his experience at the school as difficult, even implying that he felt uncared for while attending, he also formed many relationships that would inspire many of Dickens’ renowned works. The school neighbored a railroad, and over time, the building was vacated and began to deteriorate. During WWII, the building was turned over to the British Railways who eventually chose to tear down the school due to its condition being unsuitable for practical uses. 

The site can be visited today at the junction of Hampstead Road and Granby Terrace. The land on which the historic building once sat has become a construction depot for the London/Birmingham High-Speed Rail. Though the historic landmark cannot be visited as it was once used, the legacy of the Wellington House Academy will live forever in Dickens’ stories.

Works Cited

"Wellington House Academy." The Circumlocation Office, 

     www.thecircumlocutionoffice.com/trail/london/wellington-house-academy/.

Litvack, Leon. "Charles Dickens and Victorian Education." Our Mutual Friend: 

     Scholarly Pages, Oxford UP, omf.ucsc.edu/london-1865/schools-and-education/ 

     victorian-education.html. Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.

"What Is a Classical Education?" Ivywood Classical Academy, 

     ivywoodclassicalacademy.com/what-is-classical-education/. Accessed 28 Sept. 

     2021.