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

P AGE N O : 73

The Music School ( Peter Bosanquet design ) is opened in November on Commemoration Saturday 1962 by Dr. W.K. Stanton, the former Music Master and is the first building erected under the Centenary Development Plan. A small building with ‘extra’ space for an Orchestra Room (seating fifty-five ‘without difficulty’) gained ‘by a saw tooth cantilever over the path leading to the indoor range’. Ten Practice Rooms equipped with pianos and six for woodwind and brass. It is faced in a mellow brick colour with a copper roof. The new building will be connected to the renovated domestic staff quarters by a two storey block for the Clerk of Works (and his furniture stores). Builders are Galbraith Brothers Ltd of London and Oxford (Autumn 1962 Chronicle) The new Music School frees up the old Practice Rooms behind Tilly’s House which are now pulled down to provide new space, for the Housemaster’s quarters, though he will retain two rooms in the old building as his Study, connected to the new extension at the first floor level. Tilly’s will gain extra studies in space, previously used by the Housemaster and a new Games Room. Cost of the new Tilly’s alterations estimated at £11,900 (£358,190 today) (General Purposes, November 1962), Cowell’s House also will have a married quarter added, displacing one of the range of the old huts. Both alterations due to be ready by September 1964 Mervyn Evans moves into Corfe House and the Bursar into Angle House School purchase 46 Oakthorpe Road, occupied by Kerry Lyons (Common Room), with land at the rear and now owns six houses between the School grounds and the Oakthorpe Road (May Chronicle and Box 15) A ‘large hard area has been constructed by the squash courts which will be used as a parade ground, car park and for games’ New plans are published for building two new Boarding Houses (Sing’s and Field House) on a new site west of the Woodstock Road in the original Corfe fields. Foundation stone expected to be laid in July 1963. Architects will be Robert Matthew, Johnson Marshall & Partners , the Senior Architect being Kenneth Buffrey. Commencement of building is due in February 1964 with completion seven months later. Specifications for the new houses stated as including dormitories for 62 boys with the usual toilets and bathroom facilities, storage space for trunks, Junior Day Room for 20 boys, Middle Day Room for 16 boys, 8 studies for 3 boys each with a Common Room, 4 studies and kitchenettes for Prefects, a Reading Room, a Games Room, a Boot Room, Changing Rooms and showers, adequate personal and house storage space. Four bedrooms, study, sitting room Dining Room, kitchen, Bathroom, W.C.s for the Housemaster. Matron’s suite, Sickroom, Surgery, Staff Sitting Room and Maid’s Bedroom (General Purposes Meeting, November 1961) Once Sing’s move out of the Main Buildings, alterations will commence for Apsley, who benefit with an extra dormitory. Two Junior Day Rooms will be made into one and used as an extra space for dining. The Apsley Middle Day Room will become an Ante-Room for the Common Room - completion expected 1965-66 The design to extend the Chapel (including seating for an extra 120 people) with costs expected to be £150,000 (£4,515,000 today). Until the appropriate appeal results are known, no start date can be set (March 1963 Chronicle) Work started on the conversion of Room 18 (the Old Library) into a ‘comfortable Sitting Room, which will be used as a Junior Library, a waiting room for parents and a meeting place for smaller societies’ (Part of the 1955 Development Plan) Plot of land to north of Squitchey Lane opposite Capel Close acquired by School (Box 15)