St Edward's 150 Years - by Nicola Hunter

St Edward’s: 150 Years

Chapter 2 / Wardens

Right: Simeon and his family, c. 1905. Simeon married Beatrice in 1883. He gave the window on the south side of the Chapelapse‘Marriage’,to commemoratetheevent. He went on to have five children,fourshownhere, and his two sons were educated at St Edward’s. Below: Simeon died in 1928. His funeral was a solemn event and the end of an era. He was buriedbesidetheChapel where his wife was later buried too.

Below: Common Room, 1894. Back row (left to right): A.K. Lewis, G. Sayer, E.H. Montauban, D.G. Wynne-Wilson, RevdW.T. Kerry. Seated (left to right): W.H.A. Cowell, Warden Hobson, J.M. Sing (later to become Warden).

THOMAS FREDERICK HOBSON (1860–1925), WARDEN 1893–6

It was obviously not an easy task to follow Simeon and his incredible time as Warden, but the Revd Thomas Frederick Hobson was recommended by Simeon himself as his successor. Hobson had been educated at Radley College and Christ Church, had been Assistant Master at Radley and Wellington College, and was ordained in 1885. His brief time was notable as he introduced the Tutorial Set System in the summer of 1893, whereby each boy would come under the care of a Tutor who would stay with him throughout his time at the School, an idea Hobson had borrowed from Eton College. The new Warden had been a considerable sportsman and had won an Athletics Blue while at Oxford, so it is not surprising that his other priority was to work hard on improving the School’s games in general and athletics in particular. Academically the School flourished, resulting in rising numbers of successful university applications and the first notable sports teams.

had admired him and supported him. He was involved in various important decisions and was often a visitor to the School, laying the foundation stone of the War Memorial Buildings (later to become Tilly’s House) in 1923; he was present at its opening, though in a bath chair, in 1925. He moved finally to Davenant Road, further up the Woodstock Road from the School, where he died on 12 March 1928. The great bell tolled the number of his 81 years and on 15 March the coffin was brought down to the School on the farm cart, and carried from the Lodge to the Chapel. After a Eucharist service, it was lowered into the ground on the south side of the Chapel. As far as his dream for the School was concerned, shown in the 1881 aerial drawing of the Quad (seen on the front endpaper) , a remarkable amount of it had been achieved during his own time, and the School will forever be indebted to him.

Population, 1875. Note the ‘Beehive’ to the right, where the Sub-Warden’s room now stands.

Library Custodians, 1891.

treated like ‘little monks’ due to the close association with the Oxford Movement. Simeon appointed Revd Herbert Andrew Dalton as his Headmaster, though the two had a stormy relationship and Dalton’s stay in the post was only six years. More heart- warmingly, it was in 1880 that Wilfrid Cowell was appointed as a master. He became first Senior Master in 1886 and later Second Master in 1926. He worked for the School for some 57 years, covering lessons in most subjects during his ‘retirement’, living in the Lodge for most of his time, and eventually he was buried by the Chapel. The wrought-iron gates in the south- west corner were built as his memorial and opened by the Princess Royal in 1939. In his ‘Record’ he failed to mention that he bequeathed his pension fund and £1,000 to the endowment appeal. He was the School’s self-appointed Archivist and a hugely important figure in the School’s dramatic productions. We will return to him in Warden Kendall’s reign. Altogether he was an extraordinarily loyal and reliable member of staff in these early days and beyond. Simeon had married Beatrice Emma Wilkinson in 1883 and they had five children, of whom the two boys attended the School. In 1893 Simeon, having resigned as Warden, made his life in the Church once again, becoming temporary vicar at

Kilkhampton in Cornwall, before going to Bigbury in Devon as

vicar. Lastly, in 1903, he moved to the parish of Yattendon in Berkshire, where he and his family stayed for 21 years.

Despite having left the School he continued to keep a stern eye on the institution he had created with so much difficulty and determination, and where the Common Room and pupils

Above: Stained glass from the Warden’s House. Left: Wilfrid Cowell, 1880 – the master who would serve the School for 57 years.

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