Place Name
Takes its name from Byron House, which itself was named after George Gordon Byron (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824), one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement and considered one of the greatest English poets, who attended Harrow School. Although much older the name Byron House cannot be traced back farther than 1846 (some 22 years after the poet’s death) when it was used as a boarding house for schoolboys. It had previously been called Pond House and was probably built sometime around 1691 for headmaster Thomas Brain. Byron himself did not enjoy much of his schooling at Harrow, later complaining: “I always hated Harrow till the last year and a half.” And he was remembered as a troublemaker leading a rebellion among the boys against the new headmaster, the Reverend Dr George Butler. However, he did make life-long friends. Despite his own efforts to leave early and moves to have him kicked out he remained until 1805 when he was accepted at Trinity College, Cambridge.
