We’re running tours of the observatory on Saturday 13th September and Sunday 14th September as part of Heritage Open Days this year. Bootham School has had an observatory and encouraged young astronomers for over 160 years. Come and explore the current observatory, which was opened in 1902.
You can find all the details on the Heritage Open Days website, along with other local events. Tours must be pre-booked.
The Committee met to debate the question of what would happen to Bootham and the Mount. Accommodation was available in various places, but there was concern that York would not be a desirable place for boys to be, that York would be ‘glad to be spared the feeding of two or three hundred persons who could not be of any service to the City for staying’, that the ‘one-ness’ of each school would be hard to maintain with pupils scattered about the City, and that it would be asking too much of the kindness of York Friends, and too much of a burden for the staff. No definite decision was reached.
A summary of the Committee minutes of 19th August 1914.
In 1914 the first edition of the Bootham School Register was published. It included (as far as was known) the names, dates and biographies of all the boys that attended the school up to that date. 1988 names were included in all. As well as being a useful way of finding out about Old Scholars, it provides a useful insight into the period, for example what occupations people had, and how they spent their free time. It also includes a number of memories of schooldays. A number of the entries make reference to the character of the individual.
Below are some examples of extracts from the Register (hopefully the first in a series of posts).
Thomas Henry Allis (Lawrence St 1830-31) Osbaldwick, York, Commercial Traveller … Apprenticed to Jarvis Brady, Leeds, Grocer : later was with Godfrey Woodhead, Manchester : Latterly in shop, and then travelled for Tuke & Co., Tea Merchants, Castlegate, York : Taste – T.H.A. inherited much of his father’s taste as a naturalist – His sister, the late Elizabeth Pumphrey, wrote: “T.H.A. took to his Father’s Collection of Lepidoptera [group including butterflies and moths] and amalgamated them with his own, which was ultimately, I believe, second to but one out of London. This collection was, after T.H.A.’s death, presented to the York Museum. T.H.A. was accustomed to go into the woods with a dark lantern to sugar the trees and fences, and on returning the following evening to capture such moths, etc., as were caught : On one occasion he was accosted as a poacher by a keeper near Heslington. One summer he thought that the Convolvulus Sphinx moth ought to be found about a bed of Petunias that he saw in James Backhouse’s Nurseries in Fishergate, and he persisted in going to the gardens night after night until he was rewarded by finding numbers of what was thought to be almost extinct in the neighbourhood….”
William Henry Broadhead (Bootham 1855-58) An enthusiastic archaeologist and naturalist ; Spent much time in photographing and recording the Templar Marks on old houses in Leeds, most of which are now pulled down : embodied results of researches in paper read before Thoresby Society : Also interested in Egyptology, especially in connection with Pyramids : Hobbies – Photography, lock-mending.
Samuel Southall Burlingham (Bootham 1870-72) Hobbies – A devotee of fen skating and touring on the ice (when there is any in England). In 1881 traversed on ice almost the whole distance from the mouth of the River Nene to the Trent, near Gainsborough, via Spalding, Boston and Lincoln. In 1903 skated nearly 100 miles in one day.
Jackson Ebenezer Day (Lawrence St 1839) Within 5 minutes of his arrival at Lawrence Street he produced from his playbox a football, which he kicked across the playground. Up went a window, and J. Ford called out “Ebenezer Day, we do not allow such rough games as football here.” Many years after [in1862] J. Ford introduced the game himself, giving the ball the first kick.
“We are almost beleaguered in Shanghai in these days. The shipping dare not move in case of being received in an unfriendly spirit, trade is at a standstill and we only get about twenty words from Reuter each day dealing with the European situation. To make matters really cheerful the Chinese, taking advantage of the absence of all warships from the port, have indulged in a little gentle rioting. . . . However, our troubles are as naught to yours, and I do trust that you folks at home haven’t been chastened by invasion or lack of food.” From ‘Bootham’ magazine
“Fifty beds were provided in the Gymnasium and Classrooms by Friday evening, the 7th. Fifty more have been provided since. Friends in York, after a hurriedly summoned meeting, have promised £50 towards the equipment of each of these hospitals.” From Committee minutes 19th August 1914.
The war affected the school and its Old Scholars in all sorts of ways. Old Scholars followed their conscience in different ways, with some joining organisations such as the Friends Ambulance Unit, some being imprisoned as conscientious objectors, and some took up arms. We will be posting about what happened at Bootham and news that came in from Old Scholars on this blog over the next four years. Use the First World War category to find the posts (as far as possible, dates of posts will match the dates of events 100 years ago). You can also follow the news on Twitter (@BoothamWW1). For staff and students, there will be a display in school.
Check the First World War page for more links.
“On Wednesday, August 5th, one of the York doctors asked if it would be possible to use the two Schools as hospitals for the wounded in case of necessity. Those members of the sub-committee who could be communicated with, met and considered the question at once, and found that they had little, if any, choice in the matter, as it was evident that a refusal would have resulted in the premises being formally commandeered either for this purpose or more probably for use as common barracks. Many of the Elementary Schools, as well as St. Peter’s and Archbishop Holgate’s, had already been commandeered as barracks for soldiers, 80,000 of whom it was said would require accommodation in York before being transferred to other places. In the circumstances, the Sub-committee thought it was wise at once to agree to allow the local branch of the St. John Ambulance Association to use the two Schools as hospitals. As the officials thought that a naval battle was imminent in the North Sea, we were asked to have fifty beds ready at Bootham in the shortest possible time.” From the Committee Minutes, 19 August 1914
Robert Mennell (B. 1897-1900) looks back to the opening of the swimming pool in June 1914.
“As we contrast the atmosphere we breathed at Whitsuntide [Old Scholars Reunion Weekend] with that which now envelops the world, what ages seem to separate that day from this! Looking back to our school days, we shall gratefully acknowledge that the patriotism inculcated at Bootham was in no sense aggressive, nor of the sort that can be held guilty of inflaming any spirit of jealousy or distrust between men of different nations. Many of us will blame ourselves, however, for having too easily acquiesced in the general reliance upon force, which—pursuing in a vicious circle, armaments, suspicion, and fear—is beyond all question the first and real cause of the gigantic tragedy that has darkened the world. It is not easy now to write of the happy days of Old Scholars. The new swimming bath, which was opened and paid for amid expressions of such enthusiastic delight, and loomed then so large on our mental horizon, seems now with all the events of those crowded days ‘swept into the limbo of forgotten things.'”
From ‘Bootham’ magazine, December 1914
Many thanks to Claire, one of the volunteers, for researching this post.
The first School Camp took place in 1905, on a farm “on the edge of the cliff near the middle of the sweep of Robin Hood’s Bay”, according to ‘Bootham’ magazine (October 1905 edition). There had long been plans for a holiday camp for boys from York. Before the first camp, much planning took place:
“Mr Sturge and Mr Spencer Smith had given much anxious thought to the careful planning of details. Preliminary tents had been erected in the garden of ‘49’; red and blue bunting had been wrestled with in the making of ‘B.S.C.’ flags; many solemn consultations were held on the merits of penny tin plates, and coloured linens for badges; the resource of the workshop had resulted in an excellent noticeboard; boiled puddings, cakes and vegetables had been sent in by masters’ wives and other friends; and many teas and chats on the engrossing subject had gone on in the Head’s garden.”
The camp was made up of staff, some boys from Bootham, and some boys from York.
We have in the archive a set of diaries for the ‘Lads’ Club Camps’ (as they become known), running from 1911 until 1968 (with some gaps). Here are some extracts from the diaries.
1911 – The very first diary entry was the 22nd July 1911, in Scarborough. Twelve officers and forty-five lads camped on this occasion.
1922 – The diary describes the layout of the camp along with the camp rules. “No smoking, no spitting about camp, preferably not elsewhere, barbed wire not to be climbed, use styles, no one to leave camp or go to the stream without notification to a commandant No washing in the water drawing bucket, iron basins provided, foul language and swearing discouraged, especially by officers!”.
1933 – The camp took place at Thornton Dale, visiting “Farmer Elliott at Paper Mill Farm. Milk and butter were provided by the farm, water from the stream or spring on the hillside. Farmer Elliott allowed the lads to dam the stream “to make a deeper bathing pool”.
1954 – Camp was held at Bowbridge, Rievaulx. Nine days were spent there with, five staff, twelve boys from Bootham (officers) and twenty-three boys from across York.
The “variety and quality of food was good, Friends of Bootham School donated tinned stuffs, biscuits, cakes and other luxuries”. The accounts give an idea of what supplies were needed.
We were checking through the box of material about drama productions recently, and came across these photographs, which weren’t labelled, so we’re not sure about dates or productions. If you recognise these productions, please let us know!
The two lower photographs must have been after 1966, as that’s when the new hall was opened. We’re not sure whether the top right photograph was from a drama production, or another event.
