Dear Sir,
The Dean<1> is not very well to day, & I have proponed to reply to your letter asking about the school, where our boys went, ere they entered upon a public school. It was Eagle House Hammersmith & was kept then by Revd Edwd Wickham, <2> & admirably he grounded & disciplined his boys, but he has left the school some years, & we know nothing about it under its new dynasty, but the location I consider an objectionable one, it was low & damp, & I as a mother never held it in the estimation the Dean did. With best Compliments & good wishes of the season I am,
Yours truly
S. M. Butler
66. Marina
St Leonards on Sea <3>
13th Jan
We are here for the winter for the Dean's health.
Notes:
1. Her husband, George Butler, Dean of Peterborough and former Head Master of Harrow School when WHFT was there. He died at home on 30 April 1853.
2. The Rev Edward Wickham ran a private school at Eagle House, Brook Green, Hammersmith during the early part of the 19th century. Butler thought very highly of him. See Doc. No: 05791.
3.George Butler wrote to WHFT from a slightly different address in St Leonards on Sea on 5 January 1850, outlining his poor health. It is possible that they returned to this location in following years - see Doc. No: 06286.