Ingatestone: The Hyde

G Brodie follows up previous correspondence relating to The Hyde, Ingatestone (see http://blackmorehistory.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Hyde ) and the page dedicated to the former school (see http://www.blackmorehistory.co.uk/gatehouse.html ) with this note.

Received  11 August 2011

I was a boarder at Gate House School from 1942 until 1951.  Mrs Smith was Miss Joan Clarke when she joined the school as sports teacher and would take us for football which was played in a field beyond the village cricket pitch and immediately over the railway bridge.  We later played opposite the school in Mythesdale Meadow (?spelling) next door to the house of a Major Peake.

Miss Bond was my teacher in the infants’ class and I remember her with great affection.  She introduced me to boxing by allowing us to sit up in  her study  and listen to the radio broadcasts of "the big fight" e.g.  from Haringay Arena - Bruce Woodcock v Freddie Mills,  commentary by Stuart McPherson with inter-round summaries from W. Barrington-Dalby.  I listened enraptured and follow boxing to this day.

Miss Heard took over the sports in Miss Clarke's absence and I recall her joy when our cricket team, of which I was captain, firstly beat the village team, then Sandon House, Chelmsford and then King Edward VI Grammar School.

Mr Askwith, the Boss, was an admirable Head Master. I Iooked up to him as I would have to a father. Miss Shorney, Matron, who stood no nonsense from the boys,  Mr Cook the music teacher lately returned from service in the Royal Navy during the war, Mrs Pretty the cook and Buzz the gardener, Jenny the much loved donkey (the Boss would let us ride her) and Mr Goose the station master who owned an orchard whose apples I scrumped!!

Church alternated fortnightly between Fryerning Church.  Mr Fuller was the vicar, and Ingatestone Church, Mr. Fuller the Rector.  I recall Michael Waldon and his brother coming to the school from Pernambuco and Recife, Brazil.  Swimming at the Chase Hotel set me off on cold water swimming which I now do in the Serpentine, Hyde Park, London.  I last met Chips Harrison and Brian Cristall in 1957 at The Hyde, after I had completed my National Service in the Life Guards. 

Replied 21 August 2011

Thank you for your contribution, which I will post on www.blackmorehistory.blogspot.com

Ingatestone: The Hyde

Chris Berry follows up previous correspondence relating to The Hyde, Ingatestone (see http://blackmorehistory.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Hyde ) and thepage dedicated to the former school (see http://www.blackmorehistory.co.uk/gatehouse.html ) with this note.

Received  10 July 2011

Hello again

I was pleased to read the account by Mrs Joan Smith who was in a better position to recall and cleared up the facts about the end of the The Hyde. The hazy recollections of other contributors can be excused by the fact that they were much younger than Mrs Smith at the time. I was only there for a few years from about 8 or 9 to 11 when I left for Grammar School. I left in 1959 - 6 years before the fire.

I would have been in Mrs Smith's class for a short while as I progressed quite quickly from Miss Heard's class to David Askwith's class.

I originally found this website when searching for details about the last days of The Hyde and sent the previous postcards of The Hyde and I am now sending some more photos including some of the fire-damaged shell which I hope you will find interesting. I found these and saved them after a search on the internet several years ago but they can no longer be found there. One of the pictures shows the Disney family crest in one of the walls around the building.

Kind regards

Chris Berry

Replied  16 July 2011

Thank you, Chris, for your E mail.  I will publish the photos online as soon as possible.

Regards

Andrew

Ingatestone: Gatehouse School

Following the blog entry about George Sherrin (http://blackmorehistory.blogspot.com/search?q=sherrin), a number of responses have been received by former pupils of the Gatehouse School, which later moved to The Hyde ( http://blackmorehistory.blogspot.com/search?q=the+hyde), the former home of the Disney family (http://blackmorehistory.blogspot.com/search?q=disney). Their memories now appear on a separate page on the main website ( http://www.blackmorehistory.co.uk/gatehouse.html).

One correspondent, Alan Cristall, writes:

Received

4 January 2011

Hello Andrew

Thank you for putting me in touch with John Hutchins; we are now exchanging anecdotes about our time at the school.

I now have some questions for you which you will probably not be able to answer but here goes anyway.

What was the name of the house, occupied by the army during the war, which was immediately opposite the Gate House in Station Lane? Would it have been Ashleigh House – a name currently used on the new estate there?

Miss Christie was a well-known local character who ran the 1^st Ingatestone & Fryerning Scout Troop. She lived towards the top end of Fryerning Lane on the left; it may have been the last house. Is it possible to establish the name of the house?

Miss Christie moved to a cottage at Mill Green; the last road on the right before the green itself. The area is now more built up and her cottage, as I recall it, appears to have been rebuilt and is called St Giles – are you able to confirm this was the name of her cottage?

There is a building in the market place to the right as you face it and up a short dead-end on the right with a barn-type external door on the first floor. It can now be easily seen from the car park. As Scouts during the war we would store waste paper there. Do you know the original purpose of the building and has it got a name.?

Regards

Alan

Replied

5 January 2011

Alan

I’ll have a think about your tough questions. Failing that, and in addition, I will put them on the blog.

Regards

Andrew