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

P AGE N O : 69 recognition (or both), added to the back wall (September Chronicle). Improvements being made to the inside of the Pavilion with the Martyrs presenting oak tabling and chairs Four ‘Marley Multiple’ garages built at the Oakthorpe Road entrance at a cost of £450 (£15,975 today) Concern at the condition of Nos. 27 and 28 in South Parade, currently seeking modernisation under an Improvement Grant - another alternative is to listen to offers from the City Motor Company who have expressed an interest in purchasing them. Stemming from this the Governors ask for a plan for all the School’s property on the north side of South Parade (General Purposes Meeting, February 1956). Warden reports in November 1956 that the following building programmes have been recently completed :- The renovation of the Changing Rooms, the construction and erecting of a Gymnasium floor in the Indoor Baths, four garages at the Oakthorpe Road entrance to the School (to be let to Masters at £2 per term), the conversion of a room in Macnamara’s House into a Study for 6 boys thus helping to relieve the pressure on the Junior Day Room, the conversion of one class room into a Day Room for Apsley, thus eliminating the overcrowding in their Junior Day Room, the extension to the Carpenters’ Shop and a small structural alteration to provide more adequate domestic accommodation near the kitchen (Governors’ Meeting, November 1956). 1957 - Western extension to Field House ( Graham Axtell design ) commenced, including a large dormitory upstairs (for 16 boys) and four studies for Senior boys downstairs - completed September 1957. ‘Bim’ Barff and his wife move into the ‘private side’ of the property as the original dormitories have been so converted. Symm & Co responsible for the building work at a cost of £5437 (£183,771 today). This building work took two years to complete Start made on Science Block ( P. Bosanquet design ) extension. The effect of the new portion will be to make the Block ‘L’ shaped with new Laboratories overlooking the Woodstock Road. During excavations a large elm tree is removed revealing a thirty-foot well beneath, probably part of the original farm buildings prior to the School’s arrival. Thomas Kingerlee & Son is again in charge of the building work (September Chronicle). Costs in total are £26,425 (£893,165 today) ( less a contribution from the Advancement of Scientific Education of £17,500 (£591,500 today) , leaving an outstanding balance of £8,925 to pay (£301,665 today) Main Boiler House switched to burning oil, making the surroundings much neater and ‘the huge piles of coke have disappeared’ School purchases 236 Woodstock Road (September Chronicle and Box 15) at a cost of £4,259 (£143,954 today). This will be used to house R.H.M. Arkell (Common Room) and his family and will also provide for two bachelor Masters ( including I.W. Scott ) Future plans (Fielding Dodd ) for the School unveiled by the Warden to provide for one new Boarding House based in Corfe House and two new Boarding Houses nesarby. Additionally any houses adjoining the School in the Oakthorpe Road should be purchased whenever they became available Planning permission refused for the building of garages at Corfe House ( felt to be too close to the Woodstock Road ) (General Purposes Meeting, November 1957) Plan to reopen the old Drying Room adjacent to the Changing Rooms for the provision of a new staircase (General Purposes Meeting, November 1957) Floor of the Dining Hall sanded, sealed and polished (Governors’ Meeting, February 1957) Room within Apsley which was previously used by their Prefects is now converted into a small kitchen for the use of two School House Masters and, in time, for the Prefects of both Sing’s and Apsley (Governors’ Meeting, May 1957).