School Days

A Memory of Henley-on-Thames.

Before becoming the home of George Harrison of the Beatles, Friar Park was run as a school by sisters of the St. John Bosco order. This was my first school and I remember having to walk all the way to the main door along the winding drive each morning, passing by the huge rhododendron bushes which lined each side.  As I approached the large arched entrance door, shown in the photograph above, I could see the gargoyles dotted around the building, they seemed so frightening and I would always hold my head down until I could ring the large door bell and then would stand and wait for one of the sisters to come and welcome me in for the day.  The first step took me into the porch which then opened into the great hall, there were many doors and a set of grand stairs leading to the balconied upper floor where the classrooms were.

One door led to the chapel where mass was held and in the opposite corner there was my favourite place, the Holy Shop, a small cabinet hung on the wall with rosarys, hymn books, book markers and other items for sale to children during morning break.
 
I remember the dining room which was situated behind the main building, it resembled a large greenhouse with glass panes, it was very important to eat everything on our plates as nobody was allowed to leave the table until the meal was entirely finished.  The sisters worked hard and grew all the vegetables that we ate in the huge kitchen gardens.  There were tennis courts and playing fields to the right of the building and the main gardens, with a stunning fountain and landscaped gardens to the left.

It was in the landscaped gardens that Sports Day was held and during Saints Days there would be candlelit processions with all the children walking in line along the front terrace.

On sunny days the sisters would take us for walks around the amazing gardens, through the trees to the Matterhorn, a miniature version of the real thing. There was the Japanese Gardens which my very own ancestor was involved in building.  I was too scared to cross the slatted bridge over the water garden and got a jolly good telling off for being such a coward.

Just once or twice we walked to the edge of the estate all the way to 'roly poly' hill and would be allowed to roll down (no thought for our poor mums having to wash out the grass stains) and climb back up the steep grass bank.

One day I told Sister Ella I was allergic to milk and she excused me from drinking the half pint we were given at morning breaktime. In the winter the bottles were kept outside and the milk would still be frozen when brought indoors for the children to drink.  One day she caught me drinking one after all and, again, I did get into so much trouble, not for drinking the milk but for lying to her about my 'allergy'.

There were about six or seven classes in all, from Kindergarten onwards.  I remember being 'bell monitor', I had to ring the bell for breaktime.  It was a good old fashioned heavy hand bell and, when it was our turn, we would walk up and down the long balconies overlooking the grand hall ringing for all our worth.  The interior architecture of  Friar Park was as gothic as the outside and I was never quite brave enough to look upwards for fear of seeing another gargoyle face peering down.  Sometimes I would meet a novice nun scurring along with brush and pan or mop and bucket but they never talked to the children, as if they were not allowed, but I was always pleased to see a friendly face as I performed my lonely bell-ringing duty.

The school closed towards the end of the 1960s and the building was bought by the late George Harrison.  What a wonderful place to call your home!