Art Prints in the school

Share your memories and stories from the Hertford Christ's Hospital School, which closed in 1985, when the two schools integrated to the Horsham site....

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Katharine
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Art Prints in the school

Post by Katharine »

On this morning's Woman's Hour a woman was talking about a failed scheme to purchase art prints for use in schools. This reminded me of the prints we had. Perhaps only Kerren will remember Art lessons with Miss Keppel Barratt. CH obviously subscribed to a system where we had prints in school for a term (?). The first Art lesson of the term was always being shown the finer points of the prints which would then be displayed around the school.

I can't remember whether this continued until I left (my Art lessons didn't!) Miss Keppel Barratt retired and was replaced by an OG Rosemary Esch who was an absolute breath of fresh air. She may have changed everything.
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
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Post by midget »

Quite right, we got a new lot of prints each term, from some sort of library. I remember arguing for ages with Miss Keppel Barret over one in particular that I thought was a lot of modern rubbish. She came good in my last term, there was a gorgeous Japanese print that I loved, so she put it in the Science block for me.
Miss K-P had a neice, Mary, at Hertford. She arrived in the late 40s and seemed to be a sweet little old-fashioned thing just like her aunt.

Rosemary Esch seemed to be in trouble more than most with her housemistress, Mrs Cotham (2s), or so rumour had it.
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Post by midget »

THinking about Rosemary Esch, it occurs to me hat I can't imagine that anyone would want to go back to Hertford to teach. In the immeddiate post-war period, the staff, particularly the younger ones were almost as strictly observed as we were. The older ones,such as Miss MItchell would kep an eye on the young ones. I remember a young PE teacher being sacked for literally coming home with the milk after a night out. She had the misfortune to live in the White House (across the road from the school) and cadged a lift from the milkman. Unfortunately for her Miss Mitchell was on the prowl when she got home (no ensuite for the staff in those days). The point is that although it was considered an unsuitable influence on the girls, it is unlikely that any of us would have known anything about the incident if she had not been sacked.

The younger teachers would sometimes remsrk on snide comments from the older ones if they stayed out late.
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Katharine
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Post by Katharine »

How long was Miss K P there? She really came from an earlier era didn't she? We had to do 12 weeks plant drawing while in the Lower V 'because every young lady should be able to draw plants'.
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
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Post by midget »

We had to do plant drawing because it was one of the options for School cert art. Any 3 out of plant drawing, object drawing, design, and fine art.
As far as I knew, Miss K-P had been at Hertford since the dawn of time. She was there when I started in 1944, and still there in 1952.
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Katharine
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Post by Katharine »

Miss K-P retired while I was there, but quite late in my time. One of my memories of Rosemary Esch was that she took most (all?) the then Prefects to stay in her flat so that they could see the funeral procession for Winston Churchill. If I remember rightly they slept on the floor - how she got DR to agree with that I don't know!

Munch - Wendy Lee was one of the Prefects who went!
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
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