Looks like Preston College
This image is an old photograph I have recently acquired of 118 Preston Road. Never the less, it is so similar to 165 Preston Road, that any Preston College students of the 1950s could think that it was Preston College.
Ground floor
To the left of the front door at Preston College was the dining room and behind that was Mr Bastock’s sitting room. On the right of the front door, was might be called an interview room, where Mr Bastock would first take the parents of prospective students. Behind the interview room was the kitchen.
First floor
On the left on the first floor was Mr Bastock’s bedroom, behind this was a boys’ dormitory (5 boys including me) and behind that was Mr Bastock’s office. The room over the door was Maurice Brice’s single room. The room on the right was a girls’ dormitory (5/6 girls), behind that was another girls’ dormitory of the same size.
Clean clothes issue
On the top floor were 4 boys dormitories with 5/6 boys in each; also there was a linen room which held all our clean clothes. We would line up once a week, I think it might have been Saturdays, so matron could issue us with our clean clothes.
Additions to the building
Attached to the rear of the building were two downstairs, and one on the first floor for Mr Bastock’s class. In the late 1940’s a single detached classroom was built in the back yard (school play area). There was no fire escape in 1950.
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Well done Brian! I can’t believe that we all recall such a gloomy looking place so fondly.
Hello again Brian. The room over the door on the first floor was also used as an isolation sick room. I spent time there in the single bed during my chickenpox outbreak, I think it was in my first year at the school in 1951. Regards
By 1958 when we had a chickenpox epidemic five of us were put in isolation in our room top right, we had a queue outside the door of other kids wanting to get it! Does anyone have a photo of the back of the school and “playground” ? I remember the 4th of November nights when we had fights with fireworks from the building down to the kids below!
I too was interned in that famous room with the pox and I remember Pablo in there as well. Cannot recall how many times I climbed onto the glass conservatory roof over one of those classrooms and nearly fell through it. Nice view of the park when I got to the top of the building. Another recollection was the back yard with the garage on the left one of the ‘goals’ and a chalked one on the right on a concrete wall, must have kicked around countless tennis balls in the football ‘match’ where many a player would fall down the deep gully adjacent to the rear of the building as it was it had two playing levels as there was a drop halfway across the yard. Loads of us suffered minor injuries in that yard.
As you went into the kitchen/tuck shop (sort of), there was a door to the right that led to the cellar, myself and Tim Compton were often down there as we were about the only two that could mend the ever blowing fuses, both often called at all hours, we should have had a going rate. I also remember a chickenpox outbreak the dorm we were confined to was pandemonium, all youg lads full of energy just had a few spots, Mr Daines came storming in screaming at us to quiten down, one lad just said “You ever had chickenpox Sir?” he stopped in his tracks then vanished.
Looking at the picture again, I do not think it is Preston College. The top rooms right and left, at the school, had small apex type roof above the windows; we used to climb up on them to get on the roof. Imagine doing that now.
I was a day pupil at Preston College some time between 1959 -61 and shortly after joining we moved to Paxhill Park, Lindfield. I remember Pablo Muller and Harold Kayser. I used to come on the train with Les Little and his brother.
To be fair to Brian, Peter Waltham, he does state quite clearly in the first line of the article that the photo is not of Preston College, 165 Preston Road, but the building at No 118 Preston Road, which looked similar. Regards, Alan.
Go to the letters page (at school in the 50s). At the bottom of the page note the letter from Peter Ward. Follow the instructions, and you will see Preston College c1951/52. Also Lovers Lane on the same page of photos, amazing.
If anyone is really interested I have a picture of Preston College and can email them a copy (I was at the College in the 40s).
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