Buildings
Buildings and Vi's memories
SUPERINTENDENT AND MATRON'S HOUSE: One room in their house was used as a boardroom. It had big French Windows which opened onto steps, which led into the garden. I scrubbed those steps. HANNAH BARNETT and I were trained in there until we were 15. Hannah worked in the kitchen and I worked upstairs.
ROSE COTTAGE: I enjoyed running up the stairs, turning onto the landing, leaning over the banister and waving to my friends in the hall below; not that was allowed - so I had to be careful.
The cupboards outside our bedrooms were stripped and re-varnished by the boys. They made a lovely job of it. The cupboards contained our Sunday-best clothes including a folded blazer and hat.
The flooring was of hard red tiles.
We were not allowed in Old Nick's (Foster Mother) room until we were 14.
Miss Allan's (Wiggy Allan\Miss Cissy) bedroom had a bed and a dressing-table. On the dressing-table were a brush and comb; hair tidy for the hair from her brush and comb. A pot of white cream which fascinated me: Mercolized Wax: what did she do with it?
In our dormitories there were beds either side of the room and a carpet runner down the middle. Although two cubicles were built for the older girls in my dormitory, only one was ever used - my one. I had a bed, a wardrobe and a window. I would wave out of my window to HANNAH BARNET (Myrtle Cottage) and show pictures to her - such fun.
The walk-in airing cupboard had "my" teddy in it; rows of shelves for clothing from the laundry and a massive hot tank. "My" teddy sat on a wicker basket in the airing-cupboard. I would secretly cuddle him - ooh! I can remember the sound of his growler - wish I had one like that now. I never saw him outside of the airing cupboard - another strange fact but true.
PLAYROOM
Around the edge of the playroom was built in seating-which was leather topped. Under each seat was storage for our possesions. I had a shoe-box (which was a bed for dolls); knitting (for the younger ones); books from the library; a booklet to stick cards in (CLARK GABLE, RONALD COLEMAN, MARY ASTER, JACK BUCHANAN, JESSIE MATHEWS, DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS SNR). There was a painting of the Duchess of Devonshire holding a baby and of a girl in a garden holding a fan. A loudspeaker was turned on, once a year, for the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Once I tried standing on tiptoe to see into the mirror and view my new size 11 plimsolls!
KITCHEN
Once a year the big basket under the kitchen table was brought out. The dolls were removed had their clothes laundered, put back on the dolls, back into the basket and back under the kitchen table for another year! That's the only time we ever saw them! When I was 12 I sneaked out of on the dolls to take on holiday. In the larder there were usually 6 loaves of bread. When I asked which ones to use I was told to use yesterdays - probably easier to cut I suppose. A metal cover for the meat. Boiled up milk straightaway in an enamel bowl. Thick cream appeared on top as it cooled; which was eaten by Wiggy.
LIBRARY
The free library opened when I was about 11. You had to go down a country track, which was a bit spooky; not many of my friends wanted to go with me. I couldn't get enough of reading - always had my nose in a book.
MAIN DRIVE
The entrance (and exit) was through, what seemed to me, enormously huge double iron gates, parallel with the road. Then either side of the drive were Victorian houses, known as Cottages, to us. Left hand side were the girls Cottages, with the boys on the right hand side.
The view from the main gate down the drive: On the left Rose Cottage, Laundry, Myrtle, School & Church including hall (whist drives), sewing room, library, gym (cinema in winter), Band Room, Ivy, Milton and Landseer. At the far end were chickens. To the left of the Cottages was the Old Field, then the farm with Bob, the carthorse. On the right: The Lodge, Superintendent and Matron, Hawthorn, Laurel, Woodbine, swimming pool, engineering works,Nelson, Wellington, Napier, Hospital, Infirmary, Forbes and Wallis. Behind those: vegetable gardens, tuck shop, greenhouses, tennis courts, then the New Field and at the far end the cricket pavillion.