In 1990 he was interviewed by Frank Bough on an ITV money programme. Intercut with the interview were scenes of Canford’s photogenic beauty at its springtime best, with everything suggesting impressive affluence. When challenged by Bough that fees for boarders were absurdly expensive, Martin cleverly came back with a list of what every child received, the teaching, the sport, the extracurricular, board and lodging, concluding that ‘It actually works out as £30 a day. And I can’t find a good hotel or bed and breakfast for that!’

Born in 1932, Martin Marriott was the son of the Bishop of Newfoundland. It was a gangly 16-year-old who left behind an ‘uneventful life’ in post-depression Canada to join the Sixth Form of Lancing College. Here a charismatic housemaster would become a role model for Martin’s own future housemastering. He went on to read History at New College, Oxford, followed by National Service in the RAF. During this time he married Judith Lubbock, whom he had met in his Oxford days.

He began his teaching career with seven happy years at Heversham Grammar School in the Lake District. In 1966 he moved to Haileybury School, quickly rising to housemaster and later Second Master. It was when he was housemaster that a particularly potent double act came into being, as Judith began to play an increasingly important role alongside Martin. Business would be done as much over the kitchen table as across the Housemaster’s desk, a pastoral modus vivendi that would be carried over to Canford.

In 1975, following the sudden death of Haileybury’s headmaster, Marriott stepped in as acting head, shortly afterwards becoming Headmaster of Canford. On his appointment, his former housemaster at Lancing wrote to the governors to say, ‘You are very, very lucky to get him.’ And so it turned out.

At his first Speech Day, Martin reciprocated the compliment, saying ‘We have come to a very good school, a very happy and vigorous community, and we are extremely lucky to be here.’ Elsewhere he would state that he found a school ‘in good order in most ways’, but with one obvious weakness. Unhappy with the ‘semi-autonomous’ nature of the house system, Martin, like Henry VII bringing the ‘robber barons’ to heel, transformed a decentralised structure into a more integrated system.

There were two particular values that he wanted to strengthen at Canford. He was keen that the school should be a truly Christian school, in line with its foundation; and he wanted to develop a strong sense of community. So, rather than being tied to his study, he would be out and about the school, talking to pupils and staff and visiting departments. With the energetic support of Judith, his house became a place which brought people together and gave an inclusive sense of community.

His inspiring qualities of optimism, enthusiasm and empathy, complemented by his open-mindedness, judgment and vision, and underpinned by a steely toughness, enabled him to take Canford forward in times that were not always easy. His 1980 Appeal resulted in a significant building programme, including a new Art block, the Lovell block, a purpose-built Franklin House and, finally, Marriotts, Canford’s first girls’ house. It was a particular pleasure to him that, unlike Franklin, the house was named in the plural, a fitting and appropriate tribute, he felt, to Judith.

Slipping into relaxed retirement was never really an option for a man of Martin’s great energy, wisdom and sense of purpose. The single portfolio of being a headmaster very quickly burgeoned into a number of varied portfolios. He served on the governing boards of four schools and became a key member of the newly formed Independent Schools Inspectorate, inspecting 19 schools and appraising 42 headmasters. He had always believed it important to broaden the range of pupils attending Canford by offering more bursaries for poorer parents. It was entirely appropriate, therefore, that, when the Canford Campaign for raising bursary funds was launched in 2016, it was called the Martin Marriott Foundation.

The first years of his retirement were spent at Morris Farm House, in Baverstock, which became a magnet to the very many friends and former colleagues who wanted to visit him and Judith. Here he took up painting and gardening. There were also many forays onto the golf course, a sport ideal for Martin: it wasn’t the golf that mattered, it was the opportunity for chatting, for satisfying that curious mind of his.

Martin’s life was always rooted in his deep Christian faith, so when he and Judith moved into a smaller house in Salisbury, the church at which they worshipped, St Thomas’s, benefited from his still prodigious energy. It was here that Martin’s funeral was held on August 18th 2025. The huge congregation, augmented by over 800 people following the service on YouTube, was attended by many of his former pupils, teaching colleagues and a host of new friends acquired in his retirement. It was a fitting celebration of a long and very full life, led in a truly exemplary fashion.