St. Margaret''s Girls School

A Memory of Yeaton Peverey.

I was a pupil at St Margaret's from about 1959 to 1963. My fondest memories are of the beautiful house and grounds, we were so priviliged to live there. One summer was so hot we were taken to swim in the river nearby, across the fields. In winter we played lacrosse and tennis and netball in summer and competed against other local girls schools. On Sundays, we walked to church along a track to the village of Fitz and in the afternoon another walk, crocodile fashion, in best coats, hats and shoes. Saturday afternoons, we walked to the local village shop to buy sweets. Sundays, we wrote letters home, always read by a member of staff before being sealed, and no phone calls at all, unless there was a dire illness or family emergency. We shared a bath with a friend on alternate nights, and were allowed to wash our hair once a fortnight! Classes were small, about 17 was the max, and the Headmistress Miss Hainsselin was utterly terrifying and I dreaded her maths and French lessons - she could make you feel so small and stupid. There was a gardener, Mr Digweed(!) and his daughter was Asst Matron. We had a 'sick room' where we were isolated if we caught measles, chicken pox, etc. Dormitories had between 4 and 8 iron beds, and were freezing in winter. One winter, parafin heaters were brought into the bedrooms to try to warm them up! Some of the staff were lovely, I remember Miss Williams (History and Latin) and Miss O'Connor (Maths).


Added 23 September 2012

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Comments & Feedback

Hi Susan - I think I remember you? I remember that we shared sick bay together with chicken- pox!!!!! You were a little older than me. Your memories of school were just like you say. I dreaded piano lessons with Miss Heinslean - she terrified me and would slap me fingers with a ruler if I made a mistake. The shear thought makes me have goose bumps even now! Would love to hear from you - hope you well and as I am enjoying retirement. Liz. ( Rawlins)
Hallo Lizzie, it was lovely to hear from you! I can remember the chickenpox but unfortunately not who my fellow sick-bay prisoners were - what was your name then? I think we were kept in there for about a month as was the norm then, how things have changed. As soon as spots have dried up, back to school. I was sorry to hear that your music lessons were so dreadful, but that was her method of teaching generally - to bully and terrify. She had such an arrogant and superior manner which would never be tolerated now, but we were children then and didn't know any better. They were not happy times for me, generally, though as I said, living in such a beautiful place has stayed with me, and I do love the countryside and gardening!! I am lucky to live in the New Forest in Hampshire, and I walk my black lab there every day, with the aid of crutches (!)now because of arthritis. No we are not retired yet, we will probably keep going for about 3 more years. My husband and I own a small cleaning business, and we have three lovely grandchildren. I will be 70 later this year - how did that happen???!! I did go back to the school a few years ago when it was in the process of being renovated and divided up into flats, we probably shouldn't have gone inside, but we did! Windows boarded up, no light, very eerie and spooky, but brought back a lot of memories. If you google you will find its up for sale and the pictures of the restored building are quite stunning. Best wishes, Sue

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