Sharing the lower floors of College Dormitory with Wren’s, Dryden’s was founded as a day house in 1976, to cater for the growing numbers in the school, and occupies the Little Dean’s Yard end of the corridor. The house takes its name from John Dryden, the Poet Laureate, who was a King’s Scholar (1644-1650) and studied under the famous Head Master Dr Busby. For a time the house accommodated day boys and boarding girls. From 1981 to 1991, the girls boarding annexe on Barton Street was part of Dryden's, until this became a house in its own right, named Purcell's.
Facts and Figures
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Housemaster:
Mr Tom Edlin, OW (Camden Liberal Arts, History)| Founded | 1976 |
|---|---|
| House Type | Day |
| Total Pupils | 75 |
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"Dryden’s has long been a sociable House and something of a hub, perhaps thanks to our central location just off Yard; we have a long tradition of acquiring a number of Honorary Drydenites from other Houses! We have an unusually rooted ‘family’ atmosphere for a day house, whether created by an Old Drydenite Housemaster, several loyal and well established tutors – or by having been the first House at Westminster to welcome a child of not one but two former members of the very same. Highlights in the calendar include Dryden’s Nativity Carol singing and Matron’s wonderful pizza making evenings alongside our friends in College; birthdays are celebrated with much cake, and the table tennis table is in near constant use (sometimes for card games when ping pong palls!) House teams always show great spirit (and have scored some notable triumphs in recent years in football, tennis and athletics) – and perhaps being the first House to have its own bespoke socks has given those teams an added boost. With regular string quartets (even octets) and pupil-led House plays, we are never short of culture – and we are, famously, the powerhouse of the School when it comes to the noble craft of Bookbinding!"
— Mr Tom Edlin, Dryden's Housemaster