The Building of St Edward's School: A Chronology (1870 - 2020)

P AGE N O : 56 economical as two houses would be built ‘at the same time and in the same place’ (Governors’ Meeting, November 1935). 1936 - Boatman’s Cottage and Clubroom ( Brook Kitchin design ) are to be built at a cost of £800 (£76,800 today) to be built by Calcutt & Hunts Building commenced on the new Cowell’s/Segar’s Houses block ( Brook Kitchin design ), running north/ south between the Armoury and the Oakthorpe Road. To facilitate this, the School acquires a strip of land leading from the building site and giving a frontage onto the Oakthorpe Road (February Chronicle) School acquires “Little Close” 63 Middle Way (Box 15) Drainage for the new two-house block faces two alternatives (1) To take the drain into Stratfield Road which necessitates the purchase of 21 Stratfield Road at a cost of £2,000 (£192,000 today) for the house and garden or (2) To take the drainage into Oakthorpe Road via a vacant piece of land between Numbers 36 and 42 Oakthorpe Road which would cost an estimated £300 (£28,200 today) in legal expenses and the digging of a special trench. The second option is chosen, not only due to the expense involved, but it will provide the School with an ‘additional much-needed carriage way into the School ground from Oakfield Road’ (General Purposes Meeting, January 1936) The public auction for the Apsley Paddox frontage onto Squitchey Lane with a reserve price of £5 (£480 today) per foot ‘to stipulate that houses built on the land should be not less than £600 (£57,600 today) (prime cost) single and £1,000 (£96,000 today) semi detached’ (General Purposes Meeting, March 1936). The School eventually benefits by the sum of £4,250 (£408,000 today) from these sales (Governors’ Meeting, June 1936) The question of installing windows in the Memorial Chapel for the founder and Kenneth Grahame (O.S.E.) discussed and ‘Mr. Christopher Webb (Artist in Stained Glass) should be approached for costs and designs’ (General Purposes Meeting, March 1936) Proposal to erect a ‘horse-slaughtering place’ on the field next to the School Boathouse property is disallowed. This field, as yet unowned by the School, remains of interest for possible future purposes (General Purposes Meeting, November 1936) The Oxford Town Planning Committee informs the Warden that it proposed to schedule a group of trees to be preserved along the northern boundary of Apsley Paddox between the house and the Banbury Road. The School reacts by stating it has no intention of cutting the trees down but ‘wished to retain the right to do so’ should it ever want ‘to make a road to Apsley Paddox and the Banbury Road’ (General Purposes Meeting, November, 1936) The Governors agreed to rent ‘Apsley Gate’ (the original Apsley Paddox Lodge) to Jack McMichael (Common Room) until such time as he could dispose of Osberton House (General Purposes Meeting, November 1936) A scheme is put to the Governors for centralising the heating and hot water for other parts of the School. The proposed site for this is near the Indoor Swimming Bath. The current boilers in this area serve the Main Buildings, Changing Rooms, Indoor Swimming Bath, School Shop, Chapel and Big School - but are not large enough for the extra work now required. Also the fuel costs will be very high. In time, the new Boiler House will be able to cope with the heating and hot water for the Work Block and Memorial Buildings. Estimated cost involved quoted as £2,650 (£254,400 today). Initial suggested site for the new Boiler House is behind Big School which is turned down by the Governors in favour of a site behind the Isolation Hut on the eastern perimeter and a smaller unit in the basement of the New Houses Block (Governors’ Meeting, February 1936). This idea is found not viable as the New House Block cannot accommodate a boiler in its basement and therefore a new Boiler House big