Talk:Nutfield, Surrey

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Royal Philanthropic School
As the Redhill page is someone busy, maybe connecting the very large farm school whose borders ran along towards Earlswood and bordered Nutfield itself could get a mention.

Very little is left except the original Cedar House at the entrance, even the ancient church was demolished for building houses upon, when the Royal Philanthropic Society ceased its external operations, the homes centred around the church were to become a school for the RNIB, even in the 80's the original "modern" community homes across the bridge next door to the farm operations buildings were still in perfect order but emptied with interned boys being moved to the houses across the railway line purpose build of Cedar House Secure (a mini prison type unit) Cedar House Open which was the sorting house for new arrivals. There were three other unit houses colored brown for Mountbatten House, Blue for the house next to it of name I have forgotten and the unused red house unnamed which was a projected house for female children sent there by the various London boroughs who utilised the Philanthropic. The female unit never became used as by this time the Philanthropic Society were trying to end their obligations to the school.

Down the hill in a little cutting was the ICU which in reality was the schools high security unit with locked cells, inhouse education block, kitchens and utility and common rooms with residents being handcuffed when being moved from each locked section and only unhandcuffed when at dinner, in the common room or ablutions or locked within their cell.

The school had its own formal education unit built into the old buildings alongside the church where the communal kitchens were situated and supplied the upper open and Cedar houses even though each unit had extensive kitchen facilities within the house itself these were never utilised.

A very similar school to this was operated not far from Godstone village.

Lenny McLean, prizefighter and Barry the Baptist in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was a long term resident at the Philanthropic. In 1984, the year of its closing Channel 4's 20/20 Vision programme highlighted the school and its purpose in the episode "Every Mothers Son" ironically made previously 2 years before and held back by litigation by Bromley Social Services until January 1984 which by that time the schools closure and sale was already going through and much of the former huge estate on the Earlswood side sold off for development and former staff housing sold off to private buyers on the exit road that came out almost into Nutfield itself.

The schools role was myriad, firstly to remove London children deemed at risk living in London's brutal rookeries and slums. Once removed, to teach these children the basics of life, to teach them a viable and useful trade and to help them to aspire to a life without crime or violence when upon release many former "students" did go on to better things.

It was seen as a definitive alternative to prison and one of few places that could host a prison like environment but not part of the prison estate. London borough social services and magistrates courts could order a child be placed within the school as an alternative to detention centres or borstals however continued offending whilst at the Philanthropic either ended up being placed within the ICU or referred back to the courts for sentencing within the youth custody system such as Feltham or Aylesbury. Unlike prison sentences to prison units, a child sent to Redhill could be held until their 18th birthday which if you consider their arrival at age 11 could be a fairly harsh sentence for what some would see as a mediocre level of offending.

It is suspected that the David Merritt of recent tragic news in London Bridge once was a team leader at the Philanthropic until its closure. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.11.134.127 (talk) 22:49, 28 December 2020 (UTC)