HILLSBROW SCHOOL


Hillsbrow School was opened in 1924 by Mr G.D.Seale, its first headmaster, in a house called Hillsbrow that had been built by John Linnell, the artist, for his son William. Before starting the school Mr Seale had been an actor in Hollywood, and his mother lived in Chale in the Isle of Wight. Mr Seale might have owned the building but much of its land was on a 7-year lease from Fullers Earth. It was advertised as being for the preparation of boys for public schools and the Royal Navy. Boarders and day boarders were taken from 6 to 14 years of age, entire charge being taken of boys whose parents were in India and the Colonies. The grounds comprised nineteen acres and included orchards, woods and kitchen garden. Probably the house and grounds remained much as they had been when William Linnell was in residence. In the 1924 advert for the school (see below) there is a special mention that the staff members included the Rev. W.J.Perry, presumably the same Rev. Perry who had been the head of St Anne’s School which had closed in 1919. A scout troop was attached to the school and football, cricket and golf featured were special activities. Boxing, shooting, carpentry and Swedish drill were also featured. Mr Harman was bursar from 1927 to1939. His wife and two daughters would spend five weeks of their summer holidays at the school each year. His eldest daughter (Mrs Atterbury) later became a part-time secretary there. In 1930 a swimming pool was built. .......The 1913 map shows Hillsbrow as it was when a private house)..................................................................................Headmaster Mr Seale c1933 .....................(photo courtesy Holmesdale Natural History Club) ...................................................................................................(Photo courtesy Mrs Atterbury)

One of the the earliest advertisements for the school, from the 1924 Holmesdale Pictorial Guide to Reigate and Redhill and District . The 1954 advertisement includes the swimming pool, the chapel and the fact that there are now 60 acres. The telephone +number has changed from 54 to 2976

Memories of Hillsbrow by Alan Gill

.......Hillsbrow School was founded in 1924 and had its silver jubilee celebration in June 1949. That occasion is engrained in my memory because, at the age of 12, I received a special dispensation not to attend – the date happening to coincide with my elder sister’s wedding.
.......In my child’s mind the school itself, and anything or anyone connected with it, was like holy writ. We were brought up to “worship” (a word carefully chosen) the founding headmaster, Mr Geoffrey Douglas Seale, whose features and every gesture I still remember. On his birthday each child was encouraged to paint or draw a suitable card, and to make a donation from pocket money to buy appropriate gifts. Mr Seale would make his appearance among a festoon of brightly coloured cards and posters, feigning surprise at the demonstration of faith and loyalty. When he made a plus point in his speech of thanks, or even walked among us, we would flick our fingers in a curious gesture, at the same time calling out “Saufs, Saufs” in a loud voice. This was an abbreviation for “Thanks-awf-lay Sir”. I still recall the greeting today and have occasionally used it on greeting another Old Hillsbrow Boy.
.......Then there was the school song, with its mushy lines about: “Hillsbrow, that’s where everybody has a heart so true. Hillsbrow, where could anybody find a school like you.” It was almost Dickensian. There were severe punishments (including a “knees up” ritual inflicted on younger boys by older boys), and organised “bashings up” – I recall a decent and physically powerful boy protecting me by shielding me with his body. We accepted all this as “normal”. It never occurred to me to mention such matters to my parents. Had I done so I suspect they would have shrugged their shoulders and let it pass.
.......The teaching staff were mostly unqualified, but pleasant. The school had a proud boast that (until 1950) every candidate went on to pass the Common Entrance examination for an English Public School. The boast involved a bit of a fib. There was actually an arrangement with Blundells to which the school had been evacuated in World War II.

Ex-pupil Alan Gill on site 1967/8
(picture Alan Gill; supplied by Ed Gibson via David Osborn)

Alan Gill's entry on Friend's Reunited
Journalist and writer, educated Hillsbrow School, Redhill, and Charterhouse, Godalming. Emigrated to Australia in 1971.
"Hilsbrow, that's where everybody has a heart so true. Hillsbrow, where could anybody find a school like you?"
Remember that school song? Yes, indeed. And the motto: Adsequere (spelling?) Not many schools were like you. Quirky customs - flicking fingers and calling out "Saufs". School burnt down to the ground in mysterious circumstances. I have photos of the wreckage. The stuff of Dickens.
Remember the masters? Seale, Shegog, Weekes, Bieneman, Crowe, Hawke. Then there was Mrs Brown, Miss Caston, the lovely Miss Mason and Mary Harman (I had crushes on both of them). Franki Swayle (the chef) and Mr Mew (the gardener).
Funny how I remember these names from over 50 years ago, but cannot remember names of people I met yesterday.
Would like to hear from anyone who was at Hillsbrow at any time.
Went on to Charterhouse (Weekites). Mad keen swimmer, otherwise not very distinguished. One day Housemaster remarked at an OB function "If you don't work hard you'll end up like xxxxx". He was refering to another not very bright lad who, after leaving, became a journalist.
So I did likewise, went to Australia and joined the reporting staff of the "Sydney Morning Herald". Interesting career - done this, done that - now semi-retired and the author of two books, one of which "Orphans of the Empire" (about British child migration) has won wide attention.
........................My Places: 1950 Hilsbrow - 1954 Charterhouse - 1955 to 1955 RAF Hednesford - 1955 to 1957 RAF Manston

Reminiscences of ex-Hillsbrow School pupil Richard Symonds.
.......I was a pupil during the early to mid 50's when the headmasters were firstly Mr Williams and then Mr Chalk. I include three photos of the entire school, taken over 3 consecutive years by the official photographer (can't remember his name). I and my 2 brothers are in the picture (they're shown below). I also remember fellow pupils whose names were George Tobitt, "Ali" Barber, Mannikum, Pashmann, Nierumond, and many many others. We spent hours as kids playing marbles under the huge Wellingtonia tree which stood outside the front of the school (it is behind the photographer in the pictures) i.e. we are all facing it. We also made a beaten earth and banked racetrack at the back of the school along which we raced our Dinky toys. I was Stirling Moss in a green Cooper, my brother David had a blue and yellow Ferrari and pretended to be Fangio.
.......Every Saturday afternoon during the winter months, we had to troop down a very steep hill through fields to reach the playing fields where we always played Rugger. In the summer months, we played Cricket, much nearer the school, on a pitch near the main gates. I also remember the huge bonfire party on Guy fawkes night.

We processed up the drive from the main gates to the huge pyre, holding flaming torches in our hands, singing "Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum...." ... and we would all plunge our torches into the wood pile and set is all ablaze. The more daring of us used to bury potatoes in the ashes and had hot jackets the following morning. One year a rocket went wrong and flew into the firework box. the whole show was over in 2.4 seconds flat!!
.......Other memories are: - Herrings always on Friday; I hated the greasy things - Standing behind our chairs in the dining hall before and after every meal whilst the headmaster said grace - Ma Caston, the cook. Always yelling "Symonds, outside the study door to get the stick. I will not tolerate your disobedience any longer" Actually, she had a heart of gold. Always giving me currant buns - Tuck boxes in the conservatory; in Summer the ants in the sugar; in Winter the frozen Tizer - Looking forward to Dad's occasional visit on Parents Day with bag full of goodies for my tuckbox - Always getting beaten for one triviality or another. Often by Mr Williams, and also by Mr Chalk, his successor, but not so much - Saturday TV in the headmaster's study; William Tell, Lone Ranger, Rin-tin-tin; Lassie, Robin Hood - Sing Songs in the great hall. Played the part of a St Trinnian once. Gym slip, pigtails and satchel - Public Boxing Competitions; humiliating; not my scene. Spent the whole time being chased round the ring by a 5th form bruiser - Playing marbles under the big Wellingtonia tree in front of the school - The .school photos, all the
.......Richard Symonds......the school in 3 ranks, and teachers in the front row. The photographer was aged about 100 with a tripod bellows camera about the same vintage.
.......One peculiarity of the school was the calling us by our surnames, and adding a numeric if there were more than one with that name. I was Symonds IV, My 2 elder brothers were Symonds II (Peter), and Symonds III (David). There was a Symonds I, but he was no relation of ours. I also remember the 6th form, for those preparing for their common entrance exams, and it was called "Wang Chang". As to why, I never did find out.
..... The old gardener used to get sweets and fizzy drinks by weekly order for the boys. I was naughty once and he wouldn't get any sweets for me that week. I threw his mug of tea at him. Was beaten - Was ill in the San for two or three weeks in isolation - Also near the veranda was a hazel nut tree. Ate the unripe nuts which gave me tummyache - Playing in the woods, acres of them all round the school - Sunday chapel - had to "dress-up" with polished shoes etc.; crocodile in and out - I remember Mr London, one of the Governors, in his pinstripe suit - The cricket fields at bottom of drive; 1st eleven's pitch was nice and smooth, the other one was for the junior Colts and was more bumps and grass tufts than anything else - The rugger pitches at bottom of a steep hill. I was better at Rugby than cricket - The awful country runs. Found a short-cut, and often among the first to get back. never found out! - The damp cellar where we had communal baths after games; the inevitable towell flicking - Boxes of Weekend chocolates by post from granny - The one third pints of milk, often frozen in winter, and the sticky currant buns every elevenses - Group singing sessions. Ash grove; Hearts of Oak; Ye Banks & Braes; British grenadiers, etc. - Had an annual school magazine, called the "Mog". articles, poems, etc - all contributed by the pupils.

Further memories Hillsbrow School by Richard Symonds.
My brother, Peter, apparently broke all Hilsbrow School swimming records, and he was also excellent at Cricket and Rugby, being in both the 1st Eleven and First Fifteen. I remember, as Chris Turner says below, the parents very vocal in support. One parent, would stand on the touchline yelling either "Run, run,run..." or "tackle him low, tackle him low, tackle him low", almost incessantly depending whether his boy had the ball or was attacking. Peter had a close friend, George Tobitt, who I still see regularly, and who farms at Bletchingley/Outwood. For many years he had castle Hill farm, and then on the death of his father (also a farmer) he moved to the family farm, Sandhills in Outwood Lane. I remember another boarder, James Jenny, who was a very quiet individual and who I subsequently heard had a troubled life - I believe what you would nowadays refer to as bi-polar personality. It was not long after my leaving Hillsbrow that I heard through a friend that sadly he had committed suicide. Another boy had the name of Boreman (I think that is how it was spelt). His father had something to do with higher management at Fuller's Earth, the firm who leased the land to the School. I also remember the winter film-shows. We all would all troop into the main classroom (4th & 5th forms had dividing doors, which for the occasion were collapsed to squeeze us all in). Some of the shows we watched were Belle's of St Trinnians, The Titfield Thunderbolt, and the Lawrence Olivier production of Richard III. Also the Sing Songs. I remember once I had to dress up as a St Trinnian Girl - and skip onto stage to hoots of derision from the audience, and great embarrasment to myself. I also remember there was a skiffle group, one Sing-song. An improvised Double Bass was an inverted tea-chest with a broom handle and length of taught string which the musician plucked. There was also a scrubbing board which the fingers were violently brushed up and down to produce the "skiffle" sound. Someone else played an old metal watering can as a trombone. I also remember Mr Paschmann was rather unfair with punishments. My brother David, who was a day-boy, had got nearly home one day (he lived in Chart Lane) and was caught by Mr P. with dirty knees. We all thought it very unfair for him to have sent David all the way back to School to wash them, and then report to the headmaster for a caning!! My parents were up in arms and the incident probably influenced their decision to move him to Bury's Court to complete his Preparation for CE.
A Suggestion from Richard Symonds
.....Would it be a good idea to mention where where we went on to after leaving Hillsbrow? It may jog some memories of other readers. It would be interesting to see what Schools others went to, whether Grammars or Public Schools. My brother Peter moved on to Osborne House, IOW, towards a navy career (he then went to Kingarth, Barton Manor, and finally HMS Worcester, finally passing out as a Midshipman. Fifty-off years on, he is no longer in the Navy, although I think he is still on the Reserve list - is it the RNVR nowadays? and do they still call it the "Wavy Navy? My other brother David moved on to Bury's Court School, Leigh, and then to St John's Leatherhead; and I moved on to Berkhampsted. .....For further information about Richard, log on to his profile url: http://www.blogger.com/profile/09385195278663366884 ........If anyone would like to have added where they went after Hiillsbrow, or how their careers developed, please CONTACT AUTHOR

Pictures taken 1967/8 after the fire and after the building was demolished.
The old sign on the gate of Hillsbrow lodge 1967/8. The lodge, which still stands at the end of the drive nearest the A25 road, was once a classroom. (picture Alan Gill; supplied by Ed Gibson via David Osborn)
.	A view of what was once the front of the school with the old wellingtonia tree still standing 1967/8 (picture Alan Gill; supplied by Ed Gibson via David Osborn)A

The rear steps 1967/8 (picture Alan Gill; supplied by Ed Gibson via David Osborn)


Remembering Hillsbrow by Chris Turner
........I arrived at Hillsbrow in the spring in 1950 just before my sixth birthday. I already knew most of the staff and pupils as my brother, Alan, had been there for some two years and we were regular attendants at the Saturday rugby and cricket matches and at Sunday morning chapel. One of the main things I remember from those long gone days, was the huge involvement of parents in all activities. The touch line at the rugby was lined with supporters with many of the fathers being particularly vocal in their support. On of the main occasions was the annual fixture between the Old Boys and Dorking RFC. ........Cricket also was very well supported with deck chairs laid out in neat rows for the parents and the whole school had to attend, the boys sitting on benches made of logs. There was a father’s match and, on Founder’s Day, the Old Boys would play. Tea was served after the match in the case of rugby, and mid match for the cricket. ........Sunday morning chapel was also a big social occasion with tea or coffee served to parents in the dining room afterwards. Mr Seale had just died when I arrived although he had been ill for a long time and Mr Shegog had been the head for at least a Me in 1955 (In the 1955.. ....couple of years. There was no class one, just 2a and 2b, both situated in the chapel with a sacking curtain to divide the room. group above I am in the.......Mrs Holdsworth was my first teacher. Her husband Col. Holdsworth was also on the staff. Mrs Aldridge took class 2a and the 2nd row from the back,...... redoubtable Miss Wilson took class 3 in a hut behind the chapel. 6th from the right).... ................Miss Wilson was already getting on in years then and partially deaf. She was very strict and feared by all at first but we ........................................all.grew to be very fond.of her in time. She loved her cricket and would speak to no one when the match was in progress. She also ran the library which she continued to do after she had retired from teaching. She taught English and History mainly and it is entirely due to her that I had a life long love of English History. She had a wonderful way of telling the stories so that you would never forget them. It was the same with Scripture, as RE was known in those days. ........Mr Weeks was the main sports teacher and then there was Mr Chalk (Peter) who was there for years and became head after I had left. They both lived at the lodge at the bottom of the drive. Mr Peschmann was another I remember who joined the school in the early 1950s to teach French and English. He would stride up the drive with a rucksack on his back and a long walking stick. ........The school had some strange traditions. One I remember was the particular way of greeting good news. We did not applaud but made a clicking noise by pressing middle finger and thumb together and then shaking your hand up an down allowing the index finger, which was held loose, to ‘slap’ against the other two which made the noise. When 100 or so boys did it together it was quite a row! I can also remember the tradition of cheering those who were sitting their Common Entrance exams and giving them hefty thumps on their backs as they made their way upstairs to the room set aside for them. ........There were film shows on alternate Tuesdays in the winter and occasional other entertainments. A magician by the name of Ernest Castro was a regular visitor with his wfie April. On Sunday evenings during the winter each dormitory would perform a play which they would create themselves and a cup was given for the best. Then there was the English Cup, a competition for public speaking which all above a certain age had to enter. ........The undoubted highlight of the year was the annual ‘Sing-Song’. This was a bit like a scout Gang Show. The choir would open by singing the popular sings of the year and end the show with some old favourites. There would be other singing acts as well as short plays from the juniors, seniors and those in-between. Individuals with any particular talent were also showcased. Again many parents would lend a hand with lighting, costumes and make-up. ........Each season brought its ‘craze’ – conkers, marbles and many others. Most boys would bring a toboggan or sledge to use when the snow came, as it always seemed to do. There was also swimming in the summer in the unheated pool and each winter term would end with the boxing championships. I remember well visits from Freddie Millls who was then light-heavyweight champion of the world. He had his training headquarters at a pub near Dorking run by Mr & Mrs Burnham whose son, Pat, was a pupil at the school. As well as sparring with some of the smaller boys who stood on a table to reach him, Freddie would come and help to judge the boxing finals. ........There was school on Saturday mornings as well as weekdays and in the summer we would all go to the flag pole by the cricket ground to witness the hoising of the school flag on match days. Every afternoon, winter and summer, would be devoted to sport after just one lesson. After rugby we would bathe in a huge concrete bath in the cellar and just about finish in time for tea, for the borders, or to get the bus home for the day boys. ........Extensive woods allowed our imagination to run wild. One day we would be cowboys, another day Robin Hood and his band of men. We would build elaborate camps and form quite large gangs to defend them against rivals. ........After a few years Mr Shegog left and was replaced by Mr Williams, an elderly, very strict but clever man, who had taught under Mr Seale many years before. He was a chain smoker and one of the things hard to imagine today is that teachers did smoke while teaching and it was quite common to find cigarette burns on your exercise books after they had been marked, particularly if it was Mr Williams doing the marking! ........John London was an Old Boy who was heavily involved with the school. As well as running the old boys club he would give a talk a chapel every Sunday and was one of then driving forces behind the Sing-Song. ........Altogether, Hillsbrow was a terrific school to grow up in and my only regret is that I have not kept in touch with the many friends I made there. One or two I have made contact with since through the page I established on Friends Reunited. If you are reading this and have not looked at that page please do so. You may find some old friends! .......Below are a two photos of Hillsbrow cricket groups .............Chris Turner - Hillsbrow 1950-1957

Memories of Hillsbrow by Don Scott
.......53 years have passed since this photo was taken but it was interesting to see oneself all those years ago and to remember others in that picture. I, Donald Scott, am 2nd row down, 3rd in from the right in the 1955 photo above, . How the years have flown since then, a lifetime, literally has passed. So many faces I remember, though now the names elude me somewhat, but some spring to memory, I mean who can forget matron in that picture, Miss Hunter, obviously known to most of us boys as "Hawker" Hunter. Mr Crocker (Crockett to those of us that had seen Fess Parkers film of that name), Mr Chalk. Mr Williams, and another new face that year Mr Wilkinson. Both Mr Crocker and Mr Wilkinson came to the school with 2 wrecks of cars, Mr Wilkinson's being an Austin 7 Ruby if I remember rightly and Mr Crocker's a pre-war car of unknown make that was an open car with a "dickey" seat in the boot. At some stage or other i travelled in both cars, usually to do with sport. I ended up as a full cap in rugby, having played hooker for the school since the colts. David Sharpe I seem to remember was scrum half and Brian (spud) Rawlings fly half.
.......Summers I usually spent as a half cap at cricket, usually found to be hanging around on the outfield, my bowling being pathetic really and my batting a bit above abysmal, however I did take a few catches in outfield in "decider" matches for the school that gained me the half cap but I was never going to be a contender for the white full cricket cap. Those lazy hazy days of summer.
.......It's been mentioned elsewhere that we used to race Dinky racing cars down a home made track outside the conservatory and along the path just below it. My hero was always Stirling Moss at the time. Regards sledging, how we never killed ourselves on the back hill eludes me. Those that took part took our lives into our own hands when we set off down that slope that led down to the line of trees at the bottom with only the well worn path to the rugby fields as a passageway through them. Health and Safety today would have heart attacks looking at those excursions downhill on the famous "Davos" sledge. Can anyone imagine a head teacher having to submit a "Risk Assessment" to our activities in the grounds of Hillsbrow, for instance when some of the senior boys (when I was a junior) being hauled before Mr Williams for digging a tunnel in the sand on one of the hillsides in the grounds.
.......I think some of my favourite memories are of the winter shows we put on just before Christmas. Some of them I remember well, for instance the "modernisation" of MacBeth. "Is this a haggis I see before me" was the memorable line from that show. My contribution was as the old man in "The Wise Man of Gotham", though I did also play Blind Pew in treasure island. Since I retired I have trodden the amateur stage many times now and written plays for the theatre, a definite inheritance from Hillsbrow. The other bonus from those late night shows was we got to sleep for a couple of hours in the afternoons of show nights.
.......One of Hillsbrow's forgotten heroes has to be Mr Moo, the gardener/handyman. After all the swimming pool didn't fill itself up during the summer term, neither did the rugby posts self erect, or the Guy Fawkes night bonfire build itself. That was all down to Mr Moo. No one ever really knew his name that I know of, he was just there, just Moo. Usually found when not doing something around the school in his massive shed at the bottom of the driveway just before the lodge. Who can ever forget the procession with flaming torches from Moo's shed to the bonfire up on the football pitch on or around Nov 5th and the firework display after. Once again instant heart attack for any H&S Inspectors had they been around then.
.......The more I write the more the memories return, so rather than send you all to sleep I will finish with my own personal thoughts. I didn't WANT to go to a boarding school, that was a decision taken by my parents however as it was because I had no say in that part of my life I can't think of a better Prep school to have gone to, for all it's faults, hairs from the cook's red setter in food etc being just a minor irritation. I was with a lively bunch of lads of around my own age and I have to say a staff that I believe were exceptional in their care for those entrusted to them not only to look after but also to educate which in my case they did, giving me a lust in later life for knowledge, especially regards history. They were all a great crew as would be said in today’s world
"The game is more than the player; the ship is more than the crew". ..............Don Scott, Cornwall.

The 1960s

School group in 1960. This picture is from Nicholas Wall. His fellow ex-pupil, David Osborn, remembers some of the names as follows: -

Front row boys seated, numbered 1-15 from l-r: 1 Cheetham, 7 Roger Ohlson, 8 David Osborn, 10 Whitmore (minor), 11 Mark Caudle, 12 Hudson.
Second row (staff) numbered 1-9 from l-r: 1 Matron, 2 Mr Britten, 3 Mr PJ Smith, 4 Mr Chalk, 5 Mr Wickes, 6 Mr Shields, 7 Mr Devereux, 8 Mrs Howe.
Third Row (behind staff) starting with two small boys, numbered l-r 1-15: 2 Andrew Maitland, 4 Niroumand, 6, Hugh Keays-Byrne, 10 Mackay.
Fourth row from boy with different jacket, numbered l-r 1-15: 2 Keith Pfister, 3 Charles Ottowell, 5 Howard Whitmore (major), 9 Nicholas Litchfield,
10 Alan Murrell, 11 Tom Roseveare, 12 David Braithwaite II, 14 Courtney.
Fifth row, 1st boy behind boy with different jacket, rest of row slightly higher, numbered l-r 1-15: 1 Robert Broughall, 5 Slade, Peter? Braithwaite I,
7 Courtness, 15 Jerry Samuel.
Back row, numbered l-r 1-2: 2 Rhodes, 3 Nicholas Wall, 4 Simon McDonald, 6 Marshall, 7 Ashford, 9 Sen Keys-Byrne II, David Hedges, 12 Edwin Gibson.

(More names in this email from Alex Mackay)

I came upon your website and was amazed to see myself in a few photos which brought back great memories. I left in 1961 to go on to Fettes in Edinburgh. I cherish my Rugger team photo of Christmas Term 1960. We were all grinning happily above the less than exultant summary "Played 6 : Lost 6". I can add some names to the 1960 school photo: 3rd Row: 2. Keith Bulmer, 3. Hardy, 4. Patrick Bailey, 5. Richard Chown, 6. Hugh Keays-Byrne, 7. John Borkowski, 8. Alex Mackay (me), 9. C Dickenson, 10. Jeremy Farmer, 12 AP Courtness (I think). 4th Row: 8 is Michael Beeching, So many familiar faces but names have gone! Hillsbrow was a great experience. I ran into Patrick Bailey a few years ago and he had an estate agency business in Wadhurst, but I think he moved to Rye. He told me he was in regular contact with Marcus Noble. My best memories are the concerts we gave with brilliant scripts written by Peter Chalk. I can remember his version of Macbeth ..."Is this a haggis that I see before me? Is it to this the fates will draw me? Blood will have blood, carrion flesh, a swinging corpse..................and not too fresh!!!" And the concerts - they were great! Anyway, best of luck to all your old boy readers. Alex Mackay

Boys in the chapel at Hillsbrow School in the early 1960s. This picture is from David Osborn who is the boy on the right of the second row back in the main group (behind the only boy there with two stripes on his socks). The man far right is headmaster Mr Wickes and the man next to him is Mr Philpott..

The following article came from the internet in about 2006 but doesn't seem to exist there now. It is reproduced here without the permission of the author but if anyone can put me in touch with Mr John Haynes I'd be delighted to seek his permission to keep it here or will remove it if he so wishes. If his history of Hillsbrow ever came to fruition I'd be very interested in seeing it and perhaps including that here too.
Alan Moore 23.03.2008

INTRODUCTION to a history of Hillsbrow (in process) - John Haynes
........ Hillsbrow school exists now only as a site near the top of Redstone Hill in Redhill, Surrey. You can still find the odd mug handle and rusted dormitory bedstead, formless lumps of stone which formed part of the cellar, the odd coloured tile from the conservatory floor. And there is a small archway, almost buried now, and crammed with old Dulux tins and a bedspread, which was once the entrance which led from the ground floor landing of the house into the cellar where William Linnell, the son of the nineteenth century painter, and wine connoisseur (he went to the docks to select his vintages) had placed his cellar.
......... Of the house, which was called 'Hillsbrow' from the beginning, almost nothing else remains except for some of the stone steps that led down from the back of the house towards the open fields falling away towards Nutfield, and what were then the rugger pitches. The oaktree, which grew against, and into the wall sustaining the two sides flights of these steps still stands, as do many other of the trees which, to a boy who noticed such things, marked out the landscape of the woods which had, in his own time so comforted the aging painting, Linnel, and formed the basis for any number of his paintings with a woodland background.
........ If the house, or the genius of the place, could speak, I think it might be to whisper the name of John Linnell who loved this woods so well, as I, a homesick prep school boy who missed his mum, did with at least as much intensity, if not with the same ability to make art of. Linnell's biographer, Alfred Story, writes, that 'Linnell became after his settlement at Redhill a simple child of Nature, and all his pictures painted after that time, especially those of his best period, strike one as being as intimately in accord with...Nature.' Linnell first visited the house in May 1849, entirely by chance, it appears, as a result of a delay in his journey to Edenbridge. This his how his biographer, Alfred Story, describes it. 'At Redhill Junction there was a delay, and they took the opportunity to walk up the hill to Redstone Wood. Linnell had previously noticed a wooded knoll on the left of the line from London to Brighton, and had remarked that it seemed just the place for an artist's cottage. A nearer view of the spot enhanced his satisfaction with it,
and to his surprise he found that it was for sale. Well wooded, overlooking a magnificent stretch of country, and in the midst of a thoroughly agricultural district, it seemed the very place for the home of a landscape-painter, and so convinced was Linnell of the fact, that, after making the necessary inquiries and investigations, he resolved to buy it. The property belong to a stock exchange broker called Allsop who was, paradoxically, a follower of Robert Owen, of whom Linnell had a 'but a poor opinion of his 'intellects''. Linnel had original originally planned to build a small artist's cottage but in the end his conception widened and he 'employed an architect to draw up designs for a substantial house such as would meet all the requirements of his family which now numbered four sons and five daughters. The building was completed and the family moved in in July 1851.
As time went on Linnel added to this estate. Four or five years later he bought a further thirty-one acres from Lord Somers, mainly arable land, which he let to tenant farms. His painting 'Harvest' is set in one these fields. According to Story the tenant farmer there 'remarked that he supposed that the artist would get more out of the field than he should, meaning that the painting would probably fetch more than his year's crop'
........ Later still, in 1862, Linnel added Chart Lodge estate to his land, adding a further thirty-two acres, so his total estate amounted to about eighty acres. A large proportion of it was woodland and this was kept almost intact, hardly ever felling a tree, or even so much as lopping a branch.
Linnell also built two further houses at Redstone, one each for his sons William and James. It was William's house which became known as Hillsbrow and is the building which later was to become Hillsbrow School. He refers to the houses as 'the colony'. The woodland in which they were set, known as Redstone Wood, infused both his painting, and his spiritual life. Referring to the landscape around him, he said, 'this is the serious labour of my life' Then pointing to a landscape on the easel, he added, 'That is but my recreation'. It was only after settling at Redstone that Linnell began to write nature poetry, which while not being too facile as poetry, does attest to his the deepening love for nature after moving there.
........ His story makes very little mention of Hillsbrow as such. We can imagine that it probably resembled Linnell's own house, and there is a sketch by John Linnell junior called 'Redstone Wood', which shows a house very like Hillsbrow (Hills Brow, as it was usually called then). This house may possibly be Hillsbrow, since the style, especially the distinctively tall chimneys, is the same, and the way the land falls away from the corner of the house to the left (in the drawing) is very similar to the Hillsbrow that I myself recall, there even being a path at that time, just where the path
runs in the picture. However, what looks like a high wall on the right of the building does not correspond to the Hillsbrow of the 1940s. There was a wall in roughly that place, dividing the kitchen yard from the path and the steps just mentioned, but I recall that this was much lower, then, and there was no window or door coming outwards from the main house to adjoin it, as the sketch shows. So either this part of the house was partially demolished at some point, or the drawing refers to one of the other houses, which did not survive so long as Hillsbrow itself, perhaps Linnell's own. The sketch could hardly be of James's house since that was on flatter ground below in Philanthropic Lane South, close by where Redhill cemetery now stands.
........ It was in 1881) that Mr. Holman Hunt [the very prominent Pre-Raphaelite painter], being on a visit with Mrs Hunt to Mr William Linnel, who was now living at Hill's Brow, the house built for him son the estate by his father, called upon his old friend.
........ After John Linnell senior's death, the Linnell family remained on the Redstone estate until 1912, when it was occupied by a Douglas Charles Brown. The founder of the prep school at Hillsbrow, G .D. Seale, is first mentioned in the records in 1924, when the school was called Surrey House Preparatory School, then Hillsbrow House in 1925, and finally becoming Hillsbrow School thereafter. Advertisements in the local press emphasis the setting as 'one of the most delightful spots in Surrey', and mention that the school receives boys from six and fourteen and a half years, preparing
them for public schools and the Royal Navy. It was worth mentioning then in the 1920s, as it surely would not have been later, that 'Games are a special feature, CRICKET, RUGGER, SOCCER and GOLF being played. The School has been particularly successful in this direction'.
........ Redhill was a good site for a prep school, not only because of the beauty of the woodland setting and the suitability of the house from the point of view of size to accommodate about a hundred boarders, but also because it was close to the railway station at the bottom of Redstone Hill. The development of Redhill as a town distinct from Reigate was bound up with the development of the steam train. The South Eastern Railway line from Redhill to Tunbridge Wells had opened in 1842. And it was a railway journey, seven years before which had brought Linnell to Redhill. The rise of the railway network in Britain, was a factor also in the expansion of the public and preparatory schools in England, since the any particular school was now much more easily accessible to people living at a distance, especially if it was on the main line.
........ G.D.Seale, the founder of the school was not the owner of the house, however, it being leased from a fullers earth company. Fullers earth is a form a clay used in making of cloth, and is plentiful in Nutfield, which lies a mile or two to the West of Redhill, and adjoins the grounds of the school. The Victorian County History of Surrey says 'The history of Nutfield, so far as it exists, is the history of the fullers earth industry', and to the wider history of the clothing industry of Surrey.

End of John Haynes article

This painting, 'Noonday Rest' by John Linnell, gives us an idea of the view from Hillsbrow School.

Sir James Brian Dalrymple-Hay

From the Daily Telegraph 27 Sep 2005 - Sir James Brian Dalrymple-Hay, Bt, died on 21st September 2005, aged 77; husband of Sylvia; father of Fiona, Charlotte and Lucie; grandfather to Rylan, Briony and William. Funeral at Warnham, 4 October"
He was born 19 January, 1928, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Brian George Rowland Dalrymple-Hay (who died on active service in 1943) by his wife Beatrice (d. 1935), daughter of A.W. Inglis, and was educated at Hillsbrow Preparatory School, Redhill; Blundell's School, Tiverton, Devon.
Career: -- Royal Marines 1946-47; Lieutenant Royal Marine Commando, 1947-49; Estate Agent and Surveyor's Pupil, 1949; Principal 1955-67; Partner, Whiteheads PLC Estate Agents, 1967, Director, Whiteheads 1983-85; Principal, Dalrymple-Hay Overseas 1985-87, &c.
Sir James, of Warnham, Horsham, West Sussex, married in 1958, Helen Sylvia, daughter of Stephen Herbert Card, by his wife, Molly, by whom
he had 3 daughters, Fiona, Charlotte and Lucie. He is succeeded in the baronetcy (created in 1798) by his younger brother, John Hugh Dalrymple-Hay, b. 16 Dec, 1929.

This webpage was inspired by an email sent to me on behalf of Mrs Ruby Meaning who worked at Hillsbrow School 1939 - 1941. She was asking what had happened to the school and as I did not know I set about finding out. The above is the result so far and I hope that there is much more to come. If you can contribute please CONTACT AUTHOR


The pool being filled c1933 (Photo courtesy Mrs Atterbury)	The school cook in the 1930s (Photo courtesy Mrs Atterbury)	Headmaster Mr Seale 1935 (Photo courtesy Mrs Atterbury)


Mrs Atterbury, aged six, is sat at the school's pool second from right between her mother and father, Mr and Mrs Harman, in 1933. Mr Harman was the School Bursar. Her sister, Ivy, is the other side of her mother. Tommy Bird, the school secretary at the time, is on the left. (Photo courtesy Mrs Atterbury)	Mr Seale with his mother (seated) and the female members of Harman family in 1938. Here Mrs Atterbury, aged 11, is the girl on the left. (Photo courtesy Mrs Atterbury)

The site in 2008

The overgrown entrance to the school (on the right ) in 2008 (picture Alan Moore)	Hillsbrow Lodge 2008 (picture Alan Moore)

		Headmasters of Hillsbrow 1924 Mr GD Seale .........Mr Shegog .........Mr Williams .........Mr Chalk .........Mr Wilk(e)s 1963
The overgrown steps in the grounds (Picture courtesy Morag McCullagh)

Reminiscences of Mr George Howick of Cheyne Walk, Horley. I was born at Redstone Wood Cottage, Philanthropic Road. There was a footpath through the woods directly into the school grounds. My Mother and Father were friendly with one of the staff, a groundsman I think, and one of the maids who worked there. They often used to call at Redstone Wood Cottage to to spend the evening with Mum and Dad. They used to play darts and shove ha'penny. Hillsbrow school used to have spectacular bonfire and firework displays on November 5th to which my parents, sister and myself were invited. During the holidays we used the open air swimming pool, which was situated in the corner of the field adjacent to Fullers Wood Lane, which later became part of the pick-your-own farm. During the war the school evacuated to Devon and the RAF were billetted in the school and the lodge, and two large wooden huts were erected on the lawn. The school stood right on top of the hill and was noticeable because it was one of the rare buildings that boasted an 'H'-type aerial in pre-war days. (Author's note: - A parent gave a television to the school when his son left in 1937)

	HILLSBROW SCHOOL This webpage was inspired by Mrs Ruby Meaning, who worked at Hillsbrow School 1939 - 1941. She asked what had happened to the school and as I knew nothing about Hillsbrow I set about finding out. Here are the result so far, and I hope that there is much more to come. If you can contribute please CONTACT AUTHOR
The school badge (Courtesy Richard Symonds)		Hillsbrow House School 1928


Two photos of a 1932 parents' cricket match (Photos courtesy Mrs Atterbury)


Headmaster Mr Seale speaking at at the tea following the 1932 cricket match at the school. (Photo courtesy Mrs Atterbury)

Mr Seale with old boys after a cricket match in 1938 (Photo courtesy Mrs Atterbury)	Old boys at Hillsbrow, date unknown (Photo courtesy Mrs Atterbury)


This is from 1952. It is not of very good quality, I got it from a newspaper. The boys are: l-r; back row; AG Baker, MAJ Ledingham, CP Giles, MJ Politzer, DJ (David) Corbin, MED Hare. Middle row; J Poser, JR (John) Bedford, PS (Pat) Burnham, TJ (Tim) Sharp), PW Rollason. Front; JW (John) Bance, PH Huxley. John Bedford was I believe the first boy to score a century in an inter-school match. Pat Burnham’s parents kept the Barley Mow on the main A25 at Betchworth, later re-named Arkle Manor. The world light-heavyweight champion, Freddie Mills, used the pub as his training headquarters and he was a regular visitor to the school attending the boxing championships on several occasions. John Bance later captained the school at cricket and rugby and his younger brother, Ian became the second player to make a century the year after I left in 1958. (Picture courtesy Chris Turner)		This 1957 team photo is my own copy. I was the team scorer (and also touch judge for the rugby team). Not being good enough to get into the team itself I aways wanted to be involved! Back row: Keith Watkins, Richard Jennings, Alan Watson, Peter Symonds, Roland Abbey, George Tobitt, Alan Mckay. Middle row; Brian Rawlings, Richard Rendell, John Cooke, Colin Chambers, David Sharp Front: Chris Turner, Jamie Cooke. I believe that Peter Symonds may have been the brother of Richard whom you mention but I am not certain of that. David Sharp was the younger brother of Tim in the 1952 photo. (Picture courtesy Chris Turner)