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THE SPACIOUS LIBRARY is a recent school
acquisition and includes large working areas
contained on the ground and mezzanine floors in
addition to the large collection of books,
magazines and other educational aids.
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THE OLD GYMNASIUM, built in 1933 during the
'reign' of Humfrey Grose-Hodge (1928-1951) to
replace the previous gymnasium housed in a tin
shed, was of simple design with a main area
housing ropes, climbing wall, parallel bars and
vaulting horses. Changing rooms and a gallery
were provided at the northern end. During WWII
the gallery was used by the army as a 'packing
shed' for various small items of equipment and
weaponry to be used during the Normandy invasion.
Boys were seconded from their classrooms on a
roster system to perform the tasks of packing the
items which were subsequently distributed to
service units throughout the south of
England.
Over recent years the building has been enlarged
(the join marking the new extension can be seen
in the photograph) and is now used as the school
theatre.
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THE NEW southern wall of the extension serves as
a climbing wall but the original cast-iron roof
drainage system has been incorporated into the
design.
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THE INDOOR HEATED SWIMMING POOL forms part of
the Recreation Centre built in 1979/80 at a cost
of over half a million pounds sterling on the
site of the old swimming pool. The centre also
contains four squash courts and a sports hall
with facilities for basketball, badminton, table
tennis, fencing and weight training.
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THE ORIGINAL OPEN-AIR SWIMMING POOL was built in
1930 and contained a Tuck-Shop in one corner.
This picture was taken in 1947 by the author. The
old gymnasium building is visible in the
background.
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THE ERSKINE MAY HALL, named after Sir Thomas
Erskine May who was born in 1815 and later a
pupil at the school during the head-mastership of
John Brereton (from 1811 until 1855).
Erskine May later became widely known as 'an
expert on constitutional history and
parliamentary procedure.' He was made a peer in
1885 with the title of Lord Lansdowne. He died
the same year.
The building serves as an assembly hall for the
Preparatory School and as an additional theatre
and concert hall for the school. It lies close to
the former gymnasium and was opened by Dr Harvey
McGregor, Warden of New College Oxford, on 9
December 1994. One of the Preparatoy School
playing fields is in the foreground.
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THE FIVES COURTS (four in number)date from 1892.
During WWII the court on the left of the picture
was used as a temporary store for cases of
margarine.
The progress of games could be viewed from the
outside through large openings, covered by wire
netting. The openings have since been bricked up
but the courts are still used for their original
purpose.
The building visible behind the courts is the
Howard Building described in the next page.
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