Caddington, Bedfordshire

New Tech

I was late for the cutting of the first turf when Luton Technical College was being moved from Park Square to what became Barnfield College. It was a cold morning and I had overslept!

The University was to expand onto the Park Square site of the 'Tech' and while the initial works were going on we had no playground and very few facilities. Indeed our last form photograph (1956) had to be squeezed into an odd corner near the bike shed!

We also had access to Waller Street Hall (Youth Club) during lunch times several times a week and usedf to dance most of ther time there.

Building the Tech

Having spent over two years at the old college on Park Square as a student, I started work in 1953 with Seaward Brothers Builders as an apprentice. After two years on the firm they won the contract to build the new Tech. Overall I was there about two years and helped lay the drains, build the walls, point the damp course on the main building and the cycle sheds and lay tiles on the window sills and staircases. Many years after the college was opened, it was renamed Barnfield College and in 1995 I ended up as a Building Lecturer at the college, albeit not on the main campus.

Technical School, Park Square

I attended this school from the 8th January 1951 until the end of March 1953. Every morning all classes would attend assembly in this building and would then disperse to their classrooms which were often at other points around the town. My classroom was in the Weslyan Chapel in Chapel Street where I remember I was when the death of George VI was announced on the 6th February 1952. Other places used was the Waller Street Chapel for engineering lessons, the Indoor Pool in Waller Street for swimming lessons, and a long hike up to Popes Meadow for football, cricket and other sporting activities.

Youth club days

When I was about 13 or 14 I would visit this building which was next to the Grand Theatre on Waller Street. By this date the building was used as a Youth Club. I think there was a nominal charge to enter and soft drinks and snacks were available. On one occasion the main hall was blacked out for a film show and I saw Paul Robeson in Sanders of the River, an event which stirred my musical interests as his massive bass voice filled the room.