Schooldays at Arley Castle

I went to Arley Castle as a boarder in 1943/44. It made a lasting impression on me. The Arboretum was my favourite place and we had names for many of the trees which we would climb from time to time. Miss Kell and Miss Whitehouse were the two Headmistresses. Rules were strict and if we were naughty (talking after lights out etc) we could be given the task of peeling onions or pulling up stinging nettles in the vast grounds. I always kept a penny under my pillow to give to the Ferryman in case I wanted to run away! My dormitory was called 'Valentia' and there was also the Valential Hotel where I went for half term lunch with my parents.
My name was Pat Horwitch and I used to become homesick quite frequently. I learned the piano and because of regular practice times (outside Miss Kell's study). I actually did get a distinction of which I was very proud. I made a nostalgic visit back to Arley a few years ago. The castle no longer is there - just the little church where we went on Sunday morning. I hadn't realised what a gorgeous little village it was and I felt so emotional as I walked along the River Severn and saw that the Valentia Hotel was still there, though obviously had a 'face lift.'
Memories are so precious and the experiences part of the tapestry of our lives. My home was on the outskirts of Birmingham and I will never forget the very first time I was put on the train - first to Bewdley - then Kidderminster and finally Upper Arley - in my brand new uniform, feeling slightly terrified at leaving my loving family - my parents and three sisters. We arrived in the dusk and the castle looked forbidding and unfriendly. We were taken into the dining room where Miss Kell was waiting to welcome us - girls returning from the holidays and new girls like me. The dormitory was cold but soon we were in bed - thoughts racing in bewilderment at this new and strange life that was so different from home. Matron came in to check on us to be followed the next morning at 6.30am with another visit and a cry of "Up, up, up girls." So it all began. We were to be educated like young ladies.
Food was rationed due to war time restrictions so afternoon tea was either bread and jam or bread and margarine. If we were naughty and put off 'tuck' then it was definitely bread and margarine! If a girl was fortunate enough to have been sent a cake by her mother, it had to be shared with the whole table. After tea we had an hour to ourselves to read or play and then it was into the Homework Room until bed time.
On Saturday mornings we had a bath and hair wash and then a sewing lesson. In the afternoon we had free time to wander about the arboretum, find secret little spots nestled amonst the trees or climb trees. On Sunday it was church and in the afternoon a walk in crocodile fashion, two by two, and we would stop and scrump some wild apples and then in the evening Miss Whitehouse would read us a story - usual in serial form each week. I kept a calendar of my own making on the toilet door to indicate how many days 'til the end of term and mark it off each day. Half term was cause for great excitement as our relatives came to take us out for lunch. Prior to breaking up at the end of term we would march through the castle singing at the top of our voices "This time next week where shall I be? Not in this academy, no more beetles in my tea, making googly eyes at me, no more spiders in my bath, trying hard to make me laugh" etc. etc. Sometimes I would take a girl home with me. One such girl, Beth Pope, was often there in the holidays because her parents were in India and it was good fun to take her home with me.
There are many memories stored in my 'memory bank' of Arley and the castle and even now, when I hear little birds twittering in a certain way, waves of nostalgic memories wash over me and I'm once again that little girl in that big castle.