The school was founded in 1841 in Houndsditch, and the Buckle Street building was built in 1888. It replaced a smaller facility in East Tenter Street and was opened in March 1889.
The building suffered bomb damage during the Second World War, and was derelict until it was acquired by a Jewish sweet making firm in 1954. It was demolished around 1960 and replaced by a four-storey warehouse which was replaced in 2011 by Goldpence Apartments, a seven-storey residential building.