 Lady Joanna Thornhill lived between
1635 and 1708. She got married in 1655 to Colonel
Richard Thornhill, he died in 1657 and they had
no children. Lady Joanna Thornhill worked for the
Queen as a Lady-in-Waiting. When she died, Lady
Joanna Thornhill left some money to build a
school for the poor children in Wye. In the
girls' school there were about fifty girls. The
girls’ teacher went into the boys school for
two hours a day to learn to write. The girls
learned sewing and reading. The boys learned
reading, writing and arithmetic. There were
seventy boys. You had to pay to go to the school.
The headmaster was paid fifty pounds a year. They
needed more money than Lady Joanna left in her
will so her cousin added a bit more.Emma
Doody, pupil
Illustration by Kate Rogers
Further information on the Lady Joanna Thornhill School
Lady Joanna Thornhill
Endowed Primary School
Bridge Street
Wye
Kent
TN25 5EA
tel: 01233 812781
email: office@ladyj.kent.sch.uk
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