School history

Queen Eleanor Primary Academy is named after Eleanor of Castile, who was the wife of King Edward I. Eleanor was born in Castile, Spain in 1241 and married to Edward I of England in 1254. The relationship between Eleanor and Edward was especially close, with Eleanor even participating in military campaigns. There is a legend about Eleanor sucking poison from an infected wound which Edward received in battle. Although this story has been discredited, it is a sign of how stories about the strong relationship between Eleanor and Edward grew.

Eleanor was a successful businesswoman, and patron of the arts. She promoted literature, the weaving of tapestries and carpets, as well as using tableware in the Spanish style.

When Eleanor died at Harby near Lincoln, her body was transported to London where a funeral would take place at Westminster Abbey. The journey took several days, with the funeral cortege needing to regularly stop overnight. Edward I ordered a stone cross to be built at each of the twelve locations the cortege stopped. It was on 8th December 1290 that the funeral procession stopped at Delapre Abbey.

The Eleanor Cross is located in Hardingstone, only a few minutes walk from us, and is one of three surviving crosses. The other nine of the original twelve have been lost to history.

At Queen Eleanor Primary Academy, we endeavour to develop pupils who are as brave and creative as our namesake, Queen Eleanor of Castile.