Place Name
Named in honour of the Dutch Monarchy, the House of Orange-Nassau. In 1858 Professor Henry Attwell opened Nassau House School, teaching boys aged six to 18, which stood to the north of Church Road. Attwell had been a tutor to the Prince of Orange-Nassau, at The Hague, and held on to this connection with royalty to attract well-to-do families. The House of Orange-Nassau dynasty was established as a result of the marriage of Henry III of Nassau-Breda from Germany and Claudia of Châlon-Orange from French Burgundy in 1515. In turn this was inherited by William I of Orange, who became the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau, who became monarchs. Williams I’s son William II married Mary, the daughter of Charles II of England, and led the bloodless coup against the Catholic King James II. When the school closed in 1890, Attwell retired to a small residence across the road. meanwhile the former house and grounds were sold to John Norton, a local builder, who built a row of houses on the site. The rest of Nassau Road continued later being developed across a cricket field.
Nassau Road owes its name not just to the Dutch royal lineage of the House of Orange-Nassau, but also to one of its most remarkable educators: Henry Attwell, a scholar whose career was deeply intertwined with the Dutch monarchy and elite education in the Netherlands.
During the mid-19th century, Attwell served as private tutor to Prince Willem of Orange, the heir to the Dutch throne, during his formative years in Leyden (Leiden). This period, from 1854 to 1858, marked one of the most significant chapters in Attwell’s life. Living and working near the royal court, he was entrusted with the intellectual and moral development of the young prince, a role that placed him at the heart of Dutch political and academic circles.
Following his work in Leyden, Attwell continued his commitment to education at the prestigious Noorthey Institute in Voorschoten. At Noorthey, an elite boarding school for boys founded by Dr. Petrus de Raadt, Attwell contributed to one of the most progressive and respected educational institutions of the time. His reputation as tutor to the Prince of Orange only enhanced the school’s status, and he remained deeply involved in shaping its academic philosophy.
Upon returning to England, Attwell established Nassau House School in 1858, named in tribute to the royal House of Orange-Nassau with whom he had such a personal bond. Located just north of Church Road in what is now SW13, the school catered to boys aged 6 to 18 and attracted families drawn by Attwell’s royal credentials and educational prestige. The school operated until 1890, after which Attwell retired to a modest residence across the road, closing the chapter on a life devoted to noble ideals in education.
The site of Nassau House School eventually gave way to residential development, but the name Nassau Road remains—a quiet but lasting tribute to Henry Attwell’s unique role bridging Dutch royal instruction and British educational legacy.
Hi Johannes,
That’s fantastic, I’d not heard that before. It is what makes this project so fascinating, people who have their own in-depth knowledge and using it to make the stories of our street names come alive. Tony