Quantock Lodge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Quantock Lodge is a nineteenth-century mansion located near the hamlet of Aley, near the village of Over Stowey in the English county of Somerset. It was the family home of Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton, and in the 1960s was purchased by David Peaster, the headmaster of Cotham School in Bristol. Following the move Cotham School was renamed Quantock School, and had a boys-only intake, mainly composed of the sons of diplomats and armed services personnel. The 1960s and early 1970s saw a high point for the school, with it being described as 'The Gordonstoun of the West'.
In 1986 Quantock School went co-educational, but soon after the turn of the 1990s was in gradual decline, due in the main to the end of the Cold War and the closing of a number of overseas service bases, which in turn led to a drying up of new pupils. The return of the colony of Hong Kong to China in 1997 also had a serious impact on the school population. In 1998, Quantock School closed.
Following the death of David Peaster in 2000, the school reverted back to its former name of Quantock Lodge, and was remarketed by Peaster's widow Jane as a centre for recreation and banqueting. It is also a recognised youth summer camp centre - with the facilities being highly praised by visitors.
