Wartime Ven House

A Memory of Milborne Port.

About 1940, at 9 years old, my private school, Willingdon College, was evacuated from Eastbourne to Ven House.  It was a most magnificent building, built in the 1700s and pretty unsuitable for a boys' school. I remember fine carved doors and fireplaces, an impressive enormous entrance hall with ceiling paintings which we used as a Dining Hall, beautiful glass chandeliers, the arms of one of which I broke while fooling about, with dire consequences.  During the early years many of us slept in basement dormitories which had buzzing machines supposedly to introduce ozone into the air.  There is a fine terrace at the back which was weeded as a punishment.  A river with a small pool which was great in the summer.  There is also a path to a small entrance on to the main road where we had liaisons with the village girls, this led to violent threats from the village boys and some jeering when we marched to church on Sundays. In 1945 the school moved to Kent. Although I was unhappy to be away from my family during termtime, I have fond memories of Ven House as a building.