The Bucks Free Press reported in last week’s edition that the future of the former Penn School, in what was known as the Rayner’s Estate, is once again uncertain.

The building, known as Rayners House and its immediate grounds, are in the process of being granted listed building status by Historic England, in order to protect them from unreasonable development.

When that process is completed the property will probably be sold. So what is its history.

In Penn, Rayners House was the centrepiece of the large estate which extended south to the main London Road in Loudwater. Originally the estate was the home of Sir Phillip Rose. He was born in High Wycombe in 1816, the son of William Rose, an Assistant Surgeon in the British Indian Army and his wife Charlotte.

He was admitted to the Bar as a solicitor in 1836 at the age of 20 and for many years was a partner in the law firm of Baxter, Rose, Norton & Co. The firm still practices today under the name Norton Rose Fulbright.

At the age of 25, reputedly after one of the clerks at the law firm who was suffering from consumption was refused admittance to several hospitals, Rose was instrumental in the setting up of the Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest in Chelsea.

The hospital treated those suffering from tuberculosis without the financial means to pay for such treatment as was available at the time. Rose was Honorary-Secretary of the hospital from its inception until his death. This became the now world-famous Brompton Hospital. Queen Victoria was patron, and Prince Albert laid the foundation stone.

He earned his fortune as a solicitor during a time of rapid expansion of the railway system. Benjamin Disraeli was a close friend and Rose managed his legal and financial affairs. He and Disraeli bought their local estates at the same time, Disraeli at Hughenden and Philip Rose at Penn, in the early 1840’s.

Two farms, Rayners and Colehatch/Colynhatch in Hammersley Lane, formed the basis of the estate at Penn. Rose built Rayners House in 1847.

After the Wycombe to Maidenhead railway was opened in 1854 Sir Phillip constructed a private road to bring him home from the station in Loudwater up the hill to Penn. The Lodge House on the corner of Rayners Lane and the London Road is still there to this day.

Rose resigned his partnership in 1872 after a disagreement with his colleagues. He then devoted himself to public affairs. He was created a Baronet in 1874 for his work as legal adviser to the Conservative Party and in 1878 he was appointed High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire.

Sir Phillip and Rayners became the focus of the village of Penn, employing two thirds of the adult population as estate workers or tenants. In 1854, largely using his own money, he built St Margaret’s Church and established a separate parish of Tylers Green. He also built St Margaret’s Institute to try to keep working men out of the pubs.

He was a benefactor of Tylers Green School, laying the foundation stone in 1875, and the school was completed 10 months later at a cost of £1,870.

The schoolchildren were moved from the cramped conditions of the former stable block of Tylers Green House, where they had been housed. The architect of the new school was Arthur Vernon who later designed the Royal Grammar School.

Sir Phillip died in 1883 and was buried in the family vault under St Margaret’s Church. His legacy was continued by his son, the second Sir Phillip. He died in October 1919 and the title and estate were inherited by his young son, whose trustees decided to sell off the estate. In 1920, the house and grounds were bought by the London County Council for use as a school for deaf children, with the Homerton School for the Deaf transferring to Penn in 1921.

The name was changed to Rayners School, and pupils came from all over the country.

They were the profoundly deaf of both sexes, with ages ranging from 5 to 16, and many had additional difficulties. In 1960 the school was considerably enlarged, with new classrooms, a dining room and gymnasium, and girls’ dormitories.

In 1990 the Camden Local Education Authority took responsibility for the school, but in 1998 announced that they would cease to do so from August 1999. The Governors, staff, parents and pupils then began a campaign to prevent the closure of the school. The Rayners Special Educational Trust was formed and their case was presented to Parliament in March 1999. The Minister of State for Education then approved Penn School as a ‘’Non-maintained Special School’’.

This status meant that the school received no public money so had to function on an extremely tight budget. Over the next 12 years or so the school received many awards and was assessed by OFSTED as an ‘’Outstanding Provider for Care and Residential Provision’’. However difficulties were then experienced and the school was placed in special measures by OFSTED in May 2013.

Over the next two years pupil placements fell considerably and the school was placed into administration on 7 July 2015.