In 1852 the original part of the present St Giles' School was built on land given by Mrs Mary Howard and erected at her expense. The school was then conveyed to the Rector of the parish and his successors for ever. This lovely old photo, taken around 1880, shows children leaving the school.
St Giles School Pupils 1911Back Row 4th From Left Emily Ada Lisney Born 1904. Aged 7 or 8.
The normal school day was 9am to 4.30pm with eight weeks holiday a year. There were however, often problems with attendance as children could be kept at home to help with work such as haymaking and in bad weather attendance often dropped due to problems with travelling to school. Until 1925 when a new school was built in Langley Bottom, sixty children from the area were driven to school in a horse drawn wagon. In this photo taken in 1911, Emily Ada Lisney is pictured aged about 7 years old in the back row 4th from the left.
In 2002 St Giles' School celebrated it's 150th Anniversary with a special Victorian Day and church service at St Giles Church.
St Giles School 150th Anniversary
I went to St. Giles at the age of five in 1968 until the summer of '69. I think that the headmaster was Mr. Entiknap (sp. ?*). My brothers James and Duncan had also been pupils earlier in the sixties with Mrs. Day and Mr. Piper. I later returned in 1973 after a period when my family lived in Cyprus. I took my 11 plus there and went on to Therfield Secondary school thereafter for one year until the summer of 1975. I would love to hear news of any of my fellow classmates such as: Craig Wren, Russell Yates, Paul Fenwick, and anyone who remembers me! Sadly the headmaster,by then, had changed and was a rather pious Welshman who lacked any sense of humour or humanity who I think was a Mr. Morgan. I remember the 1969 Summer Fete was opened by the Baroness de Serclyse who had been a well known and celebrated First World War nurse and author. One morning my mother met her on the corner looking indignant. Apparently a German Shepherd dog had just peed on her Chihuahua! That corner of leafy Surrey will be forever etched into my memory, it's curious street names, "Alexander Godley Close" etc, the smell of Creosote drying on fences, old 1950s Austin vans and the omni-present dog poo on every alleyway blind corner, the Cherry blossom on Gaywood Road and the smell of roast beef that greeted us after a midday walk on Sundays across Headley's Heath.
Rowland Wateridge(non-registered)
I was there as a pupil for the centenary, but I think this was in 1951 rather than 1952, so that difference is a slight puzzle. Possibly 1851 was the year of the school’s foundation, and 1852 the date of the original building’s completion. I’m certain that we celebrated the centenary in 1951, as by the following year I had moved to the Epsom Grammar School for Boys (later re-named Glyn). The St Giles headmaster throughout my time was Mr Edward John Mason Fletcher, a very strict disciplinarian, and the deputy head was Mrs Thomas, a benevolent Welsh lady, musically accomplished in her own right as I recall, whose husband was a member of the BBC singers. There were several distinguished and nationally-known musicians in Ashtead in those days.. There was also a procession for the school’s centenary by pupils and parents in Victorian dress. I don’t remember a visit to the church that day, but the whole school attended St Giles’ Church on Ascension Day each year, and after church the rest of the day was a school holiday. When I joined the school in 1946, the Rector was the Revd Alan Cooper, later Vicar of St Andrew’s Plymouth, later still Provost of Bradford Cathedral and, finally, a bishop in Karachi, Pakistan. He was followed as Rector of Ashtead by the Revd John Halsey.
No comments posted.
Loading...
Follow UK Photo Archive & WW1 Photos Blog For Updates And New Photos:
