Canterbury School is a college preparatory, coeducational boarding and day school for students in Forms III through VI (grades 9-12 and post-grad). It is located in New Milford, Connecticut, United States, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford.
History
Canterbury was founded in 1915 on the aspiration of two men: Henry O. Havemeyer, scion of a wealthy family which made its fortune in sugar refining, and Nelson Hume, a Catholic schoolmaster. They intended to establish a Roman Catholic school where young men could be guided in their religion and be prepared to attend Ivy League universities.
The school was established in New Milford, Connecticut, on the location of the former Ingleside School for Girls. Hume became the first headmaster of the school. From its start with 16 enrolled students, Nelson Hume guided the school through two world wars and the great depression until his death in 1948. He was succeeded as headmaster by Walter Sheehan, John Reydel in 1973, Roderick Clarke in 1978, Thomas Sheehy in 1990, and Rachel E. Stone in 2016. Canterbury became co-educational in the fall of 1971. The school now enrolls around 320 boarding and day students on its campus in New Milford. Canterbury School celebrated its centennial in 2015.
Facilities
Academic
Old School House contains the language and history departments; the majority of language and history classes are held here. Canterbury offers Spanish, French, and Latin.
Hume Building contains the theology and mathematic departments on the upper level, and the science department on the lower level. The Hume building also houses Canterbury's Maguire Auditorium on the upper level.
Steele Hall was completely renovated in 2009. It contains the Copley Library, Admission and administrative offices on the upper level, and the student lounge, snack bar, mailroom, faculty room, dining hall, and lecture room on the lower level.
Duffy House contains art space and studios renovated from the old dining hall.
The Old Gym's first floor space has been renovated for the Stephen '43 and Lacey Hume Music Center, the L. Michael Sheehy '56 Choral Classroom, and rehearsal spaces.
Residential
Canterbury School has eight residence halls that provide housing for about 250 students. Each residence hall contains faculty apartments that range from the size of town houses to smaller one-bedroom suites. Canterbury also has built single family homes on campus, providing housing for some faculty, such as the Headmaster’s House, located on the corner of Aspetuck Avenue and Elkington Farm Road. Though they are not currently used to house students, from time to time Canterbury has roomed students in faculty residences.
Sheehan House (née Middle House) is named for Canterbury’s second headmaster, and is located in center of the lower campus. Simply referred to as "Sheehan" by students, it houses upper form boys. On Graduation, graduating VI formers walk from Sheehan to the Chapel, a tradition since 1976.
Carter House (née South House) is located on the lower campus and houses upper and lower form girls.
Duffy House (née North House) is located on the northern end of the lower campus and houses lower form girls. It contains a faculty townhouse on the western end of the building, in space that was converted from administrative offices. The school's art department is also located on the ground floor.
Hickory Hearth is located at the southern end of the lower campus and provides space for six students, all postgraduate, and three faculty members.
Havemeyer House is located on the upper campus and houses upper form boys. Nicknamed "Havey" by students, it contains two faculty townhouses which bookend the dorm.
Carmody House is located on the upper campus and houses lower form boys. Identical to Havemeyer, two faculty townhouses bookend the dorm. It is named after the Carmody family, one of the founding families of the school.
South House is a newly constructed building on the lower campus between Hickory Hearth and Carter House that houses upper form girls.
Ingleside serves as the health center. The dormitory, which is located on the second floor, is currently vacant.
Religious
Chapel of Our Lady was built in 1928 and expanded in 1959. It can seat 300. Mass is celebrated every Sunday during the school year in the Chapel at 11AM. The bottom floor of the chapel contains a classroom. Its stained glass windows have been recently restored. The chapel's carillon is named for alumnus Mel Ferrer '34.
Chaplain’s Residence is the oldest building on campus and has had various uses, including acting as Canterbury’s first chapel.
Athletic
The Athletic Center commonly referred to by students as the “NAF†(New Athletic Facility), contains the Canterbury Ice Hockey Arena (1975), the Castellini/Saxe Squash Pavilion (five courts), the field house (with three basketball courts), weight room, trainers room, and a wrestling room.
Pigott Basketball Arena was added on to the Old Gym complex in the 1960s and includes the varsity basketball arena and locker room facilities.
William R. Higgins ’53 Aquatic Center, opened in the fall of 2008, provides a new 8-lane, 25-yard pool and diving facility. It is located in the same building complex as the Pigott Basketball Arena.
Outdoor facilities include 8 tennis courts, a multipurpose turf field, other multipurpose grass playing fields, and baseball and softball diamonds with dugouts.
The school competes in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC).
Dining hall
Located on the first floor of Steele Hall, Canterbury offers a full-service dining hall preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. Meals are included in the tutition. All meals are prepared under the direction of a Culinary Institute of America chef.
Interscholastic sports
When the school was founded in 1915, Nelson Hume believed that physical activity was an important component in the education of his students. Canterbury carries on that tradition, requiring III and IV formers to participate in a sport each season at a level appropriate with their skills, while V and VI formers only need to participate in a sport for 2 seasons, and may elect to do the Yearbook/Newspaper or Strength and Conditioning for 1 season. Canterbury fields teams and competes against other schools at the Varsity, Junior Varsity, 3rd Team, and sometimes 4th team level.
Fall
Boys and girls cross country, girls field hockey, boys football, boys and girls soccer, girls volleyball, boys water polo.
Winter
boys and girls basketball, boys and girls ice hockey, boys and girls squash, boys and girls swimming, wrestling.
Spring
boys baseball, boys and girls crew, golf, boys' and girls lacrosse, girls softball, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls outdoor track, and riding.
Notable alumni and faculty
- Jack Arute '68, ESPN sports announcer
- Cofer Black '68, Vice-chairman, Blackwater USA
- Joseph Campbell '21, Mythologist, professor, author
- David C. Copley '70, President of Copley Press
- Richard Dickson Cudahy, '44, judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- Mike Dunham '91, NHL goaltender
- Dominick Dunne '44, Writer, producer, TV personality
- Mel Ferrer '35, Actor, producer, director
- Tom Gerety '64, Educator, NYU professor, former president of Trinity and Amherst Colleges
- William Randolph Hearst III '67, Venture capitalist; T=-trustee of Hearst Trust
- John Hemingway '79, Author
- John F. Kennedy, attended, President of the United States
- Thomas T. Riley '68, U.S. Ambassador to Morocco
- Dan Rusanowsky '79, Play-by-play announcer for the NHL's San Jose Sharks
- Sargent Shriver '34, Diplomat, Peace Corps organizer, vice-presidential candidate
- Gerard C. Smith '31, Diplomat and chief negotiator of SALT I
- Trevardo Williams '09, NFL linebacker
- Donovan Mitchell (basketball), attended, NBA guard and 1st round draft pick
- Paris Hilton, attended, socialite, reality TV star, and great-granddaughter of hotel tycoon Conrad Nicholson Hilton
References
External links
- Official site
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford
