Desks

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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Angela Woodford
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Desks

Post by Angela Woodford »

From today's Guardian

"Schools need to upgrade their furniture because today's children have outgrown the tables and chairs designed to meet the needs of 1960s pupils, experts say.

Pupils are so much bigger in height as well as girth that many no longer fit into standard school furniture.

There is also a much larger variation in the size of pupils meaning furniture needs to be redesigned to meet a wide range of shapes and sizes.

He said: "Although our starting point was not a question of obesity, when we looked, it is very much that the average child today is very different to a child in the 1960s, which is the last time children were actually measured for determining measures of furniture."


Remember those desks we had with integrated desk-and-chair? I wonder how old they were? Anybody hazard a guess? I suppose that we must have been quite a lot bigger and taller than the children for whom those desks were made. Mine used to creak in protest when I got up or sat down. I was medium height, so I suppose the desks would have been quite uncomfortable for tall girls.

A desk could have quite interesting graffitti, laboriously scratched in with the pointed end of a pair of compasses. They had well grungified inkwells and I remember polishing desks as a finale to sticking and licking.

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Re: Desks

Post by mvgrogan »

When I started at CH, my mother gave me a piece of advice that I remember to this day.... IF you really must write on your desk...DON'T write your own name & house number.....

Gee, Mum, I wonder why you would say that!!! :lol: :) :lol: :) :lol: :) :lol:
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......... because I once had to write lines for doing precisely that on the toilet wall in Sixes ; 'To write on walls is an uneducated form of showing off. F J Haley 6.24' not only true, but stupid!
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Re: Desks

Post by midget »

Angela, the desks were ancient when Iwas at Hertford.
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Re: Desks

Post by Kim2s70-77 »

And yes, they were uncomfortable for tall people - although you could slide the desk on runners away from the chair to some extent. At 5'9" by 3rd form, my legs often stuck out the side - which caused Mr Mulholland (Monty) to slurp in all kinds of salivary disapprovals and much waggling of the orange bushy eyebrows, as he peered at my fawn stockings in great distaste!!
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Post by Kim2s70-77 »

I'd forgotten the inkwells! And the fountain pen nibs that one dipped, and the pink blotting paper! I told you about the comment on my report card about my handwriting resembling a spider that had dipped its legs in ink and 'meandered slowly across the page'. I never could get the hang of blotting sufficiently before moving on to the next line, so it always smudged.

We used to clean some of the ink off the desks during 'Sticking and Licking' with vinegar. I would guess the desks were Victorian. I know some of the Latin primers were - because the bookplates had neat copperplate signatures from girls in the 1800s
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Re: Desks

Post by Fjgrogan »

Ah - Kennedy's Shorter Latin Primer - I recently picked up a copy from a jumble sale book stall from sheer nostalgia.
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Re: Desks

Post by Angela Woodford »

Remember the footrests at the front? They were deeply grooved by the hundreds of lace-up shoes that must have rested on them over the years. I gave a little shriek at the thought of Monty snuffling over Elizabeth's long legs at the side of the desk - I could just imagine it.

There was a specimen desk at the Hertford Museum exhibition. A sign read "Do Not Sit At This Desk" but of course I had to. I reasoned that it had taken a fair amount of punishment already in its time. It did its familiar creak. I lifted up the lid, half expecting a Monkees pin-up to be beaming back at me.

I wonder what happened to them all after the merger? Unless they travelled to Horsham too?
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Post by Kim2s70-77 »

We used to prop the desk lid level with the bible or dictionary. What a different way to experience school than kids today. We all rose from the desks with the Form captain's signal and politely chorused "Good Morning, Miss So-and-So" - then remained standing silently until invited to sit. We always raised hands before speaking or requested permission to open our desk. I cannot imagine my children being so compliant. How did they accomplish this?? It would never have occurred to me to get up or wander around. Talk about blind obedience! It must have been SO easy to teach us, compared with teachers today!!
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Re: Desks

Post by englishangel »

Angela Woodford wrote:Remember the footrests at the front? They were deeply grooved by the hundreds of lace-up shoes that must have rested on them over the years. I gave a little shriek at the thought of Monty snuffling over Elizabeth's long legs at the side of the desk - I could just imagine it.

There was a specimen desk at the Hertford Museum exhibition. A sign read "Do Not Sit At This Desk" but of course I had to. I reasoned that it had taken a fair amount of punishment already in its time. It did its familiar creak. I lifted up the lid, half expecting a Monkees pin-up to be beaming back at me.

I wonder what happened to them all after the merger? Unless they travelled to Horsham too?
There was a big sale at Hertford in July /august 1985, selling off a lot of stuff. I do remember Penny Evans telling me that Judy had bought a dayroom table. I think it was about £1500. There must have been 40 of them at least. 2 in each house and 24 in the dining hall.
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Re: Desks

Post by MKM »

Kim2s70-77 wrote:We all rose from the desks with the Form captain's signal and politely chorused "Good Morning, Miss So-and-So" - then remained standing silently until invited to sit.
The first time I supervised a junior form's prep, they went through this routine. I sat down and started my own prep. When I looked up a few minutes later they were still standing patiently waiting for permission to sit down.
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Re: Desks

Post by Jo »

Does anyone remember Deaconess Ridsdale, who used to teach scripture in the late 60s? She used to say "will you please sit", until someone a couple of years above me allegedly asked her why she spoke to us as if we were dogs. I think she took it in good part and moderated both her tone and wording appropriately :)
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Re: Desks

Post by mvgrogan »

Those desks did make it to 1985 but not down to Horsham, although there is one in the museum... I think I have a photo of Alison Branch (nee Maclagan) sitting in it during our 20 year reunion visit in 2006 (although we both left in 87!). I don't imagine for a moment that I would fit in one these days!
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Re: Desks

Post by icomefromalanddownunder »

Jo wrote:Does anyone remember Deaconess Ridsdale, who used to teach scripture in the late 60s? She used to say "will you please sit", until someone a couple of years above me allegedly asked her why she spoke to us as if we were dogs. I think she took it in good part and moderated both her tone and wording appropriately :)
Yes, I do remember Deaconess Ridsdale.

She once whacked me with her Bible (or whatever book she had in her hand as she passed my desk) to return me to full consciousness.

Not very Christian of her IMO.
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Re: Desks

Post by MKM »

Deaconess Ridsdale (I don't remember any nickname) used to preface many remarks with "In Damascus.." pronounced with a long aah in the middle, which we all imitated.
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