Henry Fawcett Primary School

School History

Henry Fawcett Primary School was founded in the 19th Century and is a mixed school of over 300 children from the ages of 3 to 11 years. The school has recently undergone a major refurbishment, part of a major investment in the school.

Who was Henry?

Henry Fawcett (26 August 1833 – 6 November 1884) was a blind British academic, statesman and economist.

Fawcett was elected Member of Parliament for Brighton in 1865. He held this seat until 1874, and thereafter represented Hackney between 1874 and 1884. He campaigned for women's suffrage.

In 1880 Henry Fawcett was appointed Postmaster-General by William Ewart Gladstone and sworn of the Privy Council.

He introduced many innovations, including parcel post, postal orders, and licensing changes to permit payphones and trunk lines.

Millicent Garrett Fawcett was born in Suffolk 1847 and married Henry Fawcett in 1867. Millicent was a pioneering campaigner for women’s rights and the right to vote, always using peaceful protest. The Fawcett Society, a major UK charity working for equality for women at home and at work was renamed in Millicent’s honour in 1953.