St Edward's 150 Years - by Nicola Hunter

St Edward’s: 150 Years

Chapter 3 / Houses

Kendall Quad was completed as a quadrangle by the creation of a boys’ House, Kendall House (K), under the Housemastership of Charlie Baggs, with most of the former members of Corfe moving into it, Corfe being changed to a girls’ House in that year with Sarah Kerr-Dineen as Housemistress. 2001 saw the first phase of Avenue House (M) when girls, taken mostly from the Lower Sixth and Shell Forms, moved temporarily into Corfe and also to Cooper House (the former Sanatorium) on the main School site, while their new House was completed, just to the north of Corfe. This was finally opened in the Autumn Term of 2002, with a second phase in 2005. At this time a start was also made on restructuring of the Cowell’s/Segar’s Block built in the 1930s; in September 2003 Segar’s moved to a brand-new building, parallel to its former site, towards Oakthorpe Road. Cowell’s remained in its original home, with expanded space, and the English Department was moved into the ground floor of the building. A new girls’ House, Jubilee House (N), situated in front of Corfe House, was officially opened in 2013, complete with two time capsules beneath its entrance, placed there at Gaudy: one capsule for Jubilee House itself and one for the School as a whole, filled by the History Department. The first Jubilee Housemistress is Phaedra Gowen. Throughout the School’s history, Sets and Houses have gathered reputations, some real, others apocryphal. Often concerned. More rewarding was the editorship of the School Chronicle . I contributed a staggeringly sanctimonious leader about the post-war world, with distinctly “red” sentiments which even now make me blush. However, its purple passages did earn me a “posthumous” literary prize. By the time it appeared I had joined up, on 1 May. Exactly one week later the Germans surrendered and the post- war world was upon us.’ Ivor Lucas (F, 1941–5) ‘1945 was a watershed in my life, as in so many others. In January I was genuinely surprised to be awarded a history scholarship at Trinity, Oxford. In my last term I was president of my House senior dayroom – the giddiest height I reached so far as school appointments were

these can be traced to the influence and character of the Set and House’s leadership, with Housemasters and latterly Housemistresses perhaps imprinting their own personalities onto their House’s behaviour. Certainly it used to be in sports that this was most marked. As the House system took over, the distribution of sporting prowess was more evenly shared between the Houses, with each having its years of glory. Field House, formerly in its more distant location, was the winner of most athletic events and especially long-distance running; many attribute this to their custom of running to and from their House to the Main School every day. Segar’s House went years without much major sporting success, often being considered rather too laid back, theatrical and bookish until the 1950s and 1960s, when it suddenly became highly successful in games – this coincided with when ‘Bill’ Veitch (OSE), an outstanding sportsman, took over as Housemaster. Cowell’s was a House that was not necessarily top of the sporting list but did well and was a strong rugby House – this may have been down to continuity of Housemasters, with Freddie Yorke and then Pat Brims in charge for nearly 40 years between them. Tilly’s House was always a strong contender in boxing and gymnastics, with Arthur Tilly being a man who stood no nonsense and ensured that his was not a House to be taken lightly. Apsley and Sing’s, both under the banner of School House, with the Warden as titular Housemaster, were considered as rather The track was archaic compared to the present facilities, and the event was very thinly attended… I would guess only two or three hundred! You can well imagine that we were pretty pleased with ourselves when we got back to School. I still have the programme somewhere in my attic with the times neatly inscribed!’ Tony Alexander (E, 1952–6) ‘…the bike ride I made with about half a dozen others (I cannot remember who they were, but almost certainly Apsley) down to Iffley Road to watch the first ever sub four-minute mile by Roger Bannister.We had read in the paper that morning that there was a possibility that the attempt might be made. I think it was an Oxford University v AAA meeting.

Growing awareness that pupils are very much individuals who will go out into the world and take completely different paths from each other, for which the School must prepare them well, is now the School’s approach, and although fitness and willingness to compete are still hugely valued, other pursuits and achievements are now equally highly regarded. clutch one end of a stick while he held the other end. If Ken could pull it free, he assumed that the boy was not paying attention. Gave rise to the phrase, ‘This boy has no semblance of grip’. HELL – Area in basement for storage of tuckboxes in Mac’s. HORSEBOX – Cubicle for private study. JOHNS & ANNIES – Domestic staff. They lived in the Johnnery and Annery, and were not permitted to cross the Quad. RAGGING – Silly behaviour. REARS – Toilets. Even in the 1960s they had no doors. SMILING – Burning (especially toast). STODGER – Cross between a doughnut and a danish pastry purchased from the Shop. SURL – Bad mood. GLOSSARY OF TEDDIES LINGO c. 1950 BASHER – Straw hat worn outside School grounds. Replaced in 1950s by plain blue caps with School crest. BONFIRE – Coloured ties worn by prefects during term, and by the entire School during holidays. BUMMING – Beating or caning. CHAOSING – Fighting. CHIMNEYS – Run between the School and Five Mile Drive. COLLEGE TART – Younger boy considered to have sex appeal. CRIBBING – Cheekiness or silliness. CRYSTAL PALACE – Toilets. FACING-OFF – Junior boys were not allowed to look at Senior boys and were therefore ordered to ‘face-off’. The sign to instruct someone to do this consisted of passing one’s forefinger in front of the eyes. FAGS – Younger boys who performed menial tasks such as cleaning shoes, passing messages and waking up prefects. GRIP – Self Control. To lose grip meant to lose one’s temper; a grip fight was when both combatants had completely lost their composure. Possibly derived from Ken Menzies’ teaching style of the 1930s. Boys being questioned had to

superior and were proud of that reputation, along with Sing’s dominating the annual Bumpers rowing races for many years. Macnamara’s (always referred to as Mac’s), under the often eccentric leadership of ‘Major’ Arthur Macnamara (in place as Set Tutor and Housemaster from 1919 to 1947), was a House which dominated many sports events, particularly cricket, especially between the Wars, and was considered as an easy-going, rather personable crowd. However, famous alumni of the School have been pretty evenly spread between the Sets/Houses, as have been those who gave their lives in the two World Wars. Today the House match is not as important an occasion as in the past. Sports matches against other schools, including hockey, netball and tennis matches, have taken over and rugby is no longer compulsory for all boys; the hotly contested Bumper Races of old are no longer in existence and pupils do not ordinarily play games outside their age groups. There has been a shift towards academic competition between Houses in recent years and the House is now seen more as a home-from-home and a place to work rather than as a social group demanding loyalty but often dominated by fiercely competitive mavericks. university, the Army, a new life in the USA, and a happy and productive private and professional life. At the age of 68 I completed the Boston Marathon in 5 hours, 15 minutes.’ Michael Wolff (G, 1940–5) ‘….a member of my House used to keep a motorbike at School which was broken down into bits and distributed amongst friends to be occasionally collected together so that it could be ridden by the owner at the weekend. I used to keep a sprocket in my horse-box, all a bit reminiscent of Allied prisoners in German concentration camps duringWWII.’ Grenville Collins (A, 1956–9) ‘I learned a fuller life. Despite, perhaps because of, fagging, the occasional caning and, retrospectively, an overdose of Anglo-Catholicism, I was prepared by the pleasures and pains of Rugby and cricket, runs to the Trout, Sgt Merry and the JTC, for

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