Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

englishangel wrote:

blondie95 wrote:When it was on BBC 1....you had to watch lunchtime neighbours not the evening one

Sorry that just means you are pregnant, you were asleep by the time the evening one came on.

Ah! .... so Blondie is pregnant. When is it due?

This was when she was at CH not now.

Students watched the evening one, they were still asle..oops I mean, in lectures for the lunchtime one.

I didn't know she was pregnant while still at CH ....? I thought they rather frowned on that sort of thing.

You visit the Tower of London, and grumble about having to pay to get in.

MKM wrote:You visit the Tower of London, and grumble about having to pay to get in.

I didn't think we had to pay ???

I know I didn't on my last visit, but that was 'yonks' ago !

DavebytheSea wrote:I didn't know she was pregnant while still at CH ....? I thought they rather frowned on that sort of thing.

not pregnant then or now! on my deps we couldnt watch evening neighbours as it was tea time, on grecians we could watch it for second time as they split tea for juniors then seniors

ah! that explains it then - no possible opportunity.

if.... you spend a fortune on eBay buying CH memorabilia.
My favourite is a Goss china pig, with the school crest (earlier, curlicued version) on its back. Whoever would have wanted a pig with CH on its back.....??????
And then there is lots of china, especially my 'not a kiff' bowl, as well as dozens of postcards, books, pictures, Illustrated London News of significant dates, condor tokens, medals (especially Marker's Medals, but I long to find one given to a girl), tiles, etc. etc. etc.
Quite a hobby. Wonder what will happen to my collection when I shuffle off this mortal coil? I think that pretty much everything I have is already in the Museum at Horsham.

Well hopefully that won't be for ages yet But isn't Hertford Museum, when it reopens after refurbishment, going to have a permanent CH exhibition? Otherwise I wonder if there are general school museums - or there is the Museum of Childhood in (I think) Bow, East London, but I'm not sure how large it is and whether they cover schools in any detail.

Kerren - what are condor tokens and markers' medals?

I've heard of Goss china (will Google that one!) but... a CH china pig??? How sweet!

That's a good idea, Jo. I had intended to Will everything to CH Horsham but I guess that the Hertford Town Museum might be more grateful! I know that the School Museum receives, frequently, bequests from deceased Old Blues, but these almost always duplicate materials which are already held, and the Museum people do find that quite difficult. They can't be ungrateful, but what do they do with dozens of copies of the same book (LOADS of bereaved people send back their loved ones Bibles....), same picture, etc. etc?.

Hello Munch!
A condor token is a small brass coin marked at 1/2 penny, or 1 penny (and I think also 2 pennies), with the CH marking on the front. It was used as 'pocket money' currency within the school in London (I assume) until Victorian times. Condor tokens are not particular to CH - they were used in many different communities, and the community was identified by the marking on the front side.

A Marker's Medal is CH specific, and was awarded to senior pupils for teaching the catechism to younger pupils. It is solid silver, has the bust of Edward VI on one side and a open Bible with the words 'Read, Mark, Learn' on the reverse. Usually, around the edge, the rim, is engraved the name of the recipient and the year the Medal was awarded. Sometimes they had a small silver ring on the rim, so that the medal could be worn. In Susannah Holmes' portrait she is wearing one, on a ribbon, around her neck. The practice of issuing Marker's Medals died out around the turn of the century/when the school moved from London to Horsham.

If the medal was awarded before the pupil left the school, it was awarded without name and passed on, and one of my eBay purchases is just that. A solid silver medal, as I describe above, but no name and no date. I suspect Susannah's falls into that category. What a pity! What value would there be in finding a Marker's Medal with her name on the rim!

Kerren - this is fascinating!

I wonder why the name "condor"? It would have been fun to have our own currency... exchangeable for favours, tuck, help with prep maybe...!

Next trip to Horsham, I must look out for the Markers' Medal around Susannah's neck. I couldn't help remembering that my own Susannah participated in her school's "buddy scheme" in which an older pupil helped a struggling younger pupil - she loved to do so.

Read, Mark, Learn, indeed.

Thank you Kerren!

Here's a condor token. I didn't know they went up to 6d - must have been worth a whole term's pocket money!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1800-christ-s-hos ... 240%3A1318