William Ford Robinson Stanley

Stanley the man and his life

William Ford Robinson Stanley was born on Monday 2nd February 1829 and baptised Wednesday 4th March 1829 at St Mary’s Church, Islington.

William’s parents were John Stanley, a mechanical engineer & Selina Hickman who married in 1826 and at the time of William’s birth lived in a house on the site of the current Highbury Station. The Stanley’s ancestral home however was at Cumberlow Green, Buntingford, Hertfordshire.

William was named after his Uncle William Ford Hickman who was his Godfather.

 Work, inventions and later life

In 1849 he worked with his father John Stanley at an engineering works in Whitechapel. Whilst his father was a skilled tradesman, he had no real head for business. While working with his father, William made improvements to the design of the tricycle and by 1854 had started up his own business at 3 Great Turnstile, Holborn, as a worker in metal and ivory, alongside making and inventing engineering instruments.

 His 'Panoptic Stereoscope' introduced in 1855 proved profitable and the business expanded with the addition of another shop at Holborn Bars.

At the 1862 International Exhibition he was awarded a medal for his straight line dividing engine. This award brought him considerable extra business and laid the foundations for later large-scale business success.

William’s father passed away on Thursday 31 August 1865 and was interred at Highgate Cemetery, having lived long enough to see his son well on the way to future success.

 William commenced work as an author and in 1866 published 'A Descriptive Treatise of Mathematical Drawing Instruments' which became the standard work on the subject reaching a seventh edition in 1900.

Further branches of the business were opened at Lincoln's Inn, London Bridge and Norwood and the firm became W F Stanley and Co in 1900 with a capital of £120,000.

William made substantial improvements to the theodolite and other surveying instruments

 Wiliam Stanley's numerous inventions included a meteorometer patented in 1867 which recorded simultaneously wind direction and pressure, temperature, humidity and rainfall, and an integrating anemometer (1883)

He also invented acoin-in-the-slot machine (one of the first of its kind) for automatically measuring people's height (1886) and a spirometer for determining lung capacity (1887). 

William had a considerable interest in photography and made improvements to camera lenses.

As well as his many scientific interests William involved himself in painting, wood carving, architecture, music and drama and he lectured widely. He composed part songs and had some of his oil paintings exhibited at the Marlborough Gallery.

William Stanley also designed his own house, Cumberlow, in South Norwood to which he retired in later life. Sadly the house was knocked down in 2006 - which caused an outcry by local residents, and members of the William F Stanley Trust.

As an author Willliam was quite prolific - including for example:

- 'Photography Made Easy' (1872)

- 'Stanley's Pretty Figure Book Arithmetic' (1875)

- 'Experimental Researches into the Properties and Motions of Fluids' (1881)

- 'Surveying and Levelling Instruments, theoretically and practically described' (1890), and 

- 'Joe Smith and his Waxworks' (1896).

Across Croydon and Norwood, William Stanley took a prominent part in public life. Various local hospitals, technical schools and other charities benefited from his generous philanthropy.  

Towards the bottom of South Norwood Hill, not far from Norwood Junction railway station one can still admire the prominent Stanley Halls designed and paid for by William Stanley himself  at a cost of £13,000. The Stanley Halls were first opened to the public on Monday 2 February 1903. At first there was a Hall and Art Gallery but another hall was added in 1904. 

Immediately adjacent to the north of the halls the Stanley Technical School was opened in 1907 and became an immediate success. William later dedicated these buildings for public use and alongside that he gave an endowment to the value of £50,000.

A cast-iron clock tower was erected in South Norwood at the junction of Station Road and the High Street in 1907 to mark the golden wedding anniversary of William and Eliza Stanley (Savory) and this is still in place. They had married on William’s birthday in 1857. The clock tower was financed by local public subscription as a tribute to William’s generosity.

The Stanley Halls continue in use for a variety of purposes - now administered via the local authority and a blue plaque on the facade records brief details of William Ford Robinson Stanley as does a green plaque affixed to the front of the original Stanley school buildings. 

These interesting Edwardian buildings deserve to be better known. Over recent decades, theft and vandalism have taken their toll - for example busts of Darwin, and Faraday  over the entrance to the main hall have been stolen and William Stanley’s bust over the door to the former Art Gallery is no longer there but there is still much to be seen:

• Beside the door to the art gallery a plaque even now advertises that admission to that facility is free. No doubt some of William’s paintings once hung there

• Inside the main hall, grills for the warm air ventilating system devised by William can still be seen

• The heating boilers are still in the basement

• Throughout the buildings the interior detailing and woodwork is excellent and there are some very nice tiles

• Over the proscenium arch in the main hall an inspiring slogan is emblazoned which in several ways expresses ideals that one feels William Stanley would like to be remembered by.

William Stanley was something of a futureologist too. Amongst his numerous predictions were:

• At sometime in the future electric trains would pass through a tunnel under the English Channel, enabling easy travel between the UK and mainland Europe

• We would one day be using small plastic cards instead of cash to pay for our transactions. 

• One day women would play a much more prominent role in public life.

William Ford Stanley passed away in his sleep at 01:45 on Saturday 14 August 1909 following a long illness, he had suffered kidney failure and a subsequent heart attack. His beloved wife Eliza Ann died several years later on Saturday 26 April 1913. They have both been laid to rest together in a quiet plot at the Beckenham Cemetery, Elmers End, in an area that was reserved for parishioners of  St John’s Church.

William Stanley deserves acclaim for all he did for the South Norwood community and indeed for the country as a whole. He should always be recognised as a man way ahead of his time in terms of his thinking and ambition and to whom we all owe a great debt of gratitude.

Stanley's School

Photograph of the school facade, looking eastward across what is now South Norwood Hill, taken not long after the school was opened.

The (slightly older) Stanley Halls commences at/to the right of the clock tower

William Stanley had long been worried about the lack of technical education in Britain. Other European countries were forging ahead, and when, in 1902, London needed 2,000 taxis, it was Renault of France who provided them. The British car industry was quite simply not developed enough at the time to produce vehicles in this quantity.

Having long been an admirer of the Trade Schools in Germany and being extremely concerned that boys in particular were leaving UK schools at the age of 14 without any real foundation for earning their way in the world, he set about the task of building and establishing the curriculum for the Stanley Technical Trade School, as it was initially named, in order to help provide the sort of skilled labour that the country needed.

The opening of the school was reported in detail in the Croydon Advertiser and Surrey County Reporter editions of 30th March 1907. It cost £50,000 to build and was freely dedicated for use by the public. Sadly, over the decades, with the exception of the school buildings this property was all sold off to help fund running costs. 

School fees were initially charged for attendees, at one shilling per week. However this could be waived if the boy’s father was unemployed.

Stanley School Timeline

1907  –  Stanley Technical Trade School opened. Students aged 12-15 Years, 2 forms
1939  –  World War II. School temporarily evacuated to Balcombe and later to Devon
1944  –  Stanley Technical Grammar School. Students aged 11-18 Years (11+ entry), 2 forms
1959  –  Opening of 2-storey Science extension, 4 laboratories & kitchen block
1971  –  Second 2-storey extension just uphill of the original school buildings, adjacent to South Norwood Hill, 7 Classrooms and offices
1972  –  School intake changed to 14-18 Years. Comprehensive 4-form entry + 6th form
1978  –  Small sports hall opened on the grounds to the rear of the Stanley Halls
1988  –  "Cook wing" extension opened, again to the rear of the Stanley Halls, 6 classrooms
1991  –  School intake changed to 11-16 Years, losing 6th form
1995  –  Fortune House site (fronting onto the esatern section ot South Norwood High Street) acquired to accommodate furher expansion of the school
2007  –  School Centenary celebrations

2007  –  The Stanley school closed to tie in with the opening of the new Harris Academy South Norwood, the original Stanley school structure receiving       very substantial refurbishment in the process.

 School pupil photographs

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The William F Stanley Trust

This was set up as a charitable Trust to ensure that the basic ethos behind the founder's wishes to better prepare boys for employment in industry continue to be met.

The Stanley Foundation was originally formed to assist with the management of the Stanley Trades School which over several decades evolved to become the Stanley Technical High School.

During the year or so leading up to the formal closure of the Stanley school as at 31st August 2007, the original Stanley school buildings received very substantial refurbishment in order to be ready to form a significant part of the new Harris Academy South Norwood which became operational with effect from 1st September 2007.

The Trust continues to support the pupils of the South Norwood and North Croydon area through:

• Making those parts of the Academy campus which the Trust owns available for Academy use

• Formal provision of a permanent appointment to the South Nowrood Academy board of governors. 

The Stanley ethos only slightly altered to reflect the mixed school intake, passage of time and the huge advances in technology so that the aim is now to better prepare young people for employment in the 21st century in a technology rich world.

For many years up until March 2014 the Trust was chaired by Steve Lewington who was formerly the Chair of Governors at the Stanley Technical High School (STHS).

Mrs Joanna Freeman (former Deputy Chair of Governors, STHS) then served as Trust Chair through to January 2024, providing continuity from Steve's work.

Steve and Joanne were supported by the following Trustees:

• The late Colin Moore (Stanley Foundation member for well over a dozen years)

• The late Peter Allen, a very long serving former teacher at STHS who continued his association with the school following retirement

• The late Daphne Allen, (another long-serving, retired former teacher, STHS.

• Bob Arndtz (Chair of Governors STHS for the former school's final 2 years), has served as Trust Secretary since 2005

• Mrs Bernadette Loderick, former Parent Governor, STHS and Trustee since 2005

• Mrs Uli Fountain, Trustee since 2005

• Mrs Jennie Roach-Hamilton Trustee since 2007

• Mr Chris Shaw, teacher at STHS for approx. 30 years spanning STHS and the opening years of the South Norwood Academy, joined the Trust in 2008

• Mr Reza Majid, elected as Trustee in March 2018 

 The Trustees recognize the immense contribution made over the years by former trustees including Mrs Denise Deroy-Parker, Michael Waite, Dean Sutton JP, Mrs Patricia Hansen, Colin Campbell, and Jim Walkinshaw.

Mr Reza Majid was elected to Chair the Trust in January 2024.

Image of Stanley Technical High School badge 

The original Stanley website was produced c.2011 by Dean Lewington

(former pupil of Stanley Technical High School)