Polam Hall

Polam Hall School is a mixed all-through school located in Darlington, County Durham, England. Polam Hall was founded as a Quaker "boarding school" for girls. It is now mixed-gender and inter-denominational but still retains its Quaker traditions and ethos. History of the house Harrington Lee, a prominent Darlington merchant, built a house in the country in 1794 and lived there with his family for 27 years; upon his death in 1824 his remaining family sold the property in the area referred to as 'Polam Hill'. In 1825, Jonathan Backhouse, a financial backer of the railways, bought 'Polam Hall' (on Polam Hill) and was responsible for renovations including the landscaping of the grounds; it was not until 1828 that his wife Hannah (née Chapman Gurney) and family moved in. As members of the Darlington Society of Friends (Quakers) and ministers they undertook missionary work resulting in them having to travel extensively around England and America. As cousins of Edward Pease, Joseph John Gurney and Elizabeth Fry, they were able to work with each other to improve their world. In the 1841 census, the family are listed as living in 'Polam Hall', but it is understood that both Jonathan, who died in 1842, and Hannah, who died in 1850, continued to refer to their home as 'Polam Hill'. The school history