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The old car-park bogs
Posted: Sun May 22, 2005 10:42 am
by Richard Ruck
Do older members recall the bogs in the car-park behind the Art School?
When I first came accross these as a squit, I was horrified by the lack of doors on the khazis. The whole thing was open to the elements, and each cubicle contained a roll of old-style hard bog-paper flapping in the wind, almost daring anyone to risk using the'facilities'.
Personally, whenever I needed to attend to the lower end of the digestive system, I used to scuttle back to my own house.
Did anyone actually risk taking a dump in these monstrosities? And what exactly was the thinking behind the lack of doors? Was it some Victorian-style attempt to stamp out self-abuse? Was it to discourage any potential naughtiness between pupils? I remember the lav-end doors were equally doorless......
Posted: Sun May 22, 2005 11:38 am
by JamesF35
Yes they were pretty disgusting. They only seemed to be cleaned for days when there would be lots of visitors around: Parents Day, Speech Day etc.
You obviously never ventured into the ladies side ! They had doors and were much cleaner - very sexist ! In those days the ladies were hardly ever frequented so it wasn't a problem to use them if you got caught short whilst in the library or just needed an excuse to skive out of a science lesson.
Posted: Sun May 22, 2005 2:58 pm
by Hendrik
they were there until my seniors, when CH built that goddamn shanty town there.
there were doors then though. quite quaint as far as toilets go, but yes, they only cleaned them for parents day.
Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 9:33 am
by Great Plum
The art school bogs, by the time I were at CH were pretty grim and mostly used for smoking in... I have, I think, the last picture taken of the bogs before they were demolished to make way for 'Grange Hill'...
Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 11:57 am
by ben ashton
Is Grange Hill still there or has it fallen down yet? It must be full of chair/foot/etc shaped holes by now.
How long is it meant to last?
Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 12:40 pm
by Great Plum
ben ashton wrote:Is Grange Hill still there or has it fallen down yet? It must be full of chair/foot/etc shaped holes by now.
How long is it meant to last?
It is still there...
Ryan Pickett and myself had a wager that it would still be there in 10 years time - so far it's stood for 5...
I have only been in there once but it is a dive...
Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 12:46 pm
by ben ashton
As it was a replacement for Prep Block while the boarding houses are being 'renovated' it could be there (judging by the current speed of things)for decades!
Whats the plan for prep block afterwards? If it's left as accomodation CH could have another 50ish pupils ie. more money...
Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 12:49 pm
by J.R.
You lot seem to have stirred a distant memory in this misty brain of mine.
Were these a-forementioned bogs surrounded by a wall which was covered in creeper, ivy and other such foliage, or is my brain playing tricks ?
Post the pic Plum. It might just stir the grey stuff a bit more !!
Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 1:06 pm
by Richard Ruck
What's this 'Grange Hill' thing all about?
Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 1:45 pm
by J.R.
Richard Ruck wrote:What's this 'Grange Hill' thing all about?
A load of child-star actors poncing about in a secondary school where they keep a donkey in the caretakers shed, Richard.
About as believable as Father Christmas.
(Oh, the irony, J.R. !!)
Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 1:46 pm
by Great Plum
Richard Ruck wrote:What's this 'Grange Hill' thing all about?
Well, it's back to the wonderful 'masterplan' again. When the boarding houses started to be renovates, they 'converted' the prep block behind the back of Leigh Hunt into a 'decant' boarding house. They needed the classrooms to go somewhere - so they demolished the art school bogs (interestingly Grade II listed so i wonder how they got permission) and replaced it with a temporary portakabin monstrosity full of classrooms.
When the decant was finished, the prep block was to have been converted into teacher accomodation and new classrooms would have been built near the music school.... What will happen now is anyone's guess...
And JR - I have no scanner so i can't help you much....
Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 2:18 pm
by Richard Ruck
So what's happened to the Prep block now? I assume it will still be needed as temporary housing if the other boarding houses get refurbished....
Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 2:30 pm
by Richard Ruck
J.R. wrote:Richard Ruck wrote:What's this 'Grange Hill' thing all about?
A load of child-star actors poncing about in a secondary school where they keep a donkey in the caretakers shed, Richard.
About as believable as Father Christmas.
(Oh, the irony, J.R. !!)
About as believable as pupils being expected to empty their lower colons in doorless khazis open to the elements.....!
Which reminds me, it would still be interesting to hear of anyone knows the'official' reasoning behind the lack of doors.
My personal theory is that it was intended to discourage self-abuse, but that still doesn't really explain the lack of doors on the lav-end bogs.
I mean, who is going to get OUT of bed for a Barclays?
Perhaps it's more prosaic - some Edwardian 'Master-Plan' which ran out of dosh before the doors could be ordered.
Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 5:05 pm
by Great Plum
Richard Ruck wrote:So what's happened to the Prep block now? I assume it will still be needed as temporary housing if the other boarding houses get refurbished....
I think it's currently empty...
Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 10:02 am
by J.R.
Great Plum wrote:And JR - I have no scanner so i can't help you much....
You don't exactly work a million miles from my front door ! (About one mile, to be exact).
I'd be more than happy to scan and enter anything you want on this site.
P.M. me ! (John.)