Ellen Gissing

Ellen Gissing, born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, was an English teacher, author, and the younger sister of novelist George Gissing. George may have helped put Wakefield on the map, alongside other Victorian literary heroes such as Thomas Hardy and H. G. Wells, but it was his passionate, hardworking younger sisters, Margaret and Ellen, who persevered to give something back to the city by setting up an elite prep school. Highly educated but constrained in their career choices due to their sex and social standing, the pair trained across the country as governesses before returning to the city to create the prestigious Boys’ Preparatory School.

Originally founded in 1898 in their home on Wentworth Terrace, it was relocated to larger premises at Cliff Hill House seven years later due to demand for places. At a time when parents were forced to send their children to study miles from home due to a lack of local educational institutions, they filled a much needed gap in the market. In 15 years, more than 700 boys passed through the doors of the small school to be trained by the sisters, who took only the brightest youngsters. Their pupils were educated to the highest standards in Latin, English, music and maths, and many went on to further study at the country’s top establishments.

Following the school’s closure, the sisters moved to Leeds, where Ellen continued to teach university students. In 1923 they retired to Aysgarth, where Margaret died following a long illness in 1930. Ellen then moved to Westmorland where she was joined by her nephew, Alfred, in the final years of her life. In later years she wrote two books, Angels and Men: The Nature and Purpose of Heavenly Beings as revealed in the New Testament and The Hidden Life of the Blessed Virgin.

Source: The Wakefield Express