Bridewell Service

King Edward’s School Witley gather at St Bride’s each year on Bridewell Day for a service of dedication and thanksgiving for the foundation of the Bridewell Royal Hospital.

The Rt Hon & Rt Revd Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London is this year’s preacher, and in attendance will be the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Nicholas Lyons.

The school choir will be singing the following anthems:
‘Collegium regale’ Te Deum – Herbert Howells
And I saw a new heaven – Edgar Bainton

The Head Girl of King Edward’s School, Annella Ryder (an ex-officio member of the Guild of St Bride), will be giving a reading and the Head of the School, Mrs Joanna Wright, will say the Thanksgiving.

The Bridewell Royal Hospital was founded by King Edward VI in 1553 when he gave the Bridewell Palace to the school’s founder, Nicholas Ridley, then Bishop of London, as a place to house, care and educate the under-priviledged and destitute.

In 1860, the Hospital was renamed to King Edward’s School, and in 1867 it moved from central London to its current site in Witley.