| Meerkat All posts by this member | 1 of 25 Mon 8th Oct 2012 7:41pm Member: Joined Oct 2012 Total posts:34 Hi All, I went to Whitly Abbey school from 1960 to 1964 I was in Hood house, some very good memories and some not so good but all in all it wasn't too bad.
Anybody else go to Whitley Abbey? |
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| DBC Nottinghamshire All posts by this member | 2 of 25 Tue 9th Oct 2012 5:51pm Member: Joined Apr 2010 Total posts:169 I was there from 1957 to 1961 transferring from Stoke Secondary Modern after being lucky enough to pass my "13 plus" exam. I was in Kenilworth house and the only teachers I can remember are Mr Day and Mr Knight. The latter ( I think ) was our house master. I can also remember the headmaster who smoked like a chimney and once told us he thought smoking should be made compulsory because of all the taxes it raised. But you still got into trouble if you were found to be smoking!
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| LesMac Coventry All posts by this member | 3 of 25 Wed 10th Oct 2012 3:41pm Member: Joined Dec 2011 Total posts:291 I DID'NT go to Whitley Abbey School. Long before the school was built I used to fish the carp pool there. It was, I believe made by the monks that lived there.As at most monestries around the country a carp pool was made to provide fish for the monks to eat... I recall catching mid range carp there, about 15lb . I often wondered what happened to that pool when the school was built....Les |
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| DBC Nottinghamshire All posts by this member | 4 of 25 Wed 10th Oct 2012 4:04pm Member: Joined Apr 2010 Total posts:169 The pool was still there after the school was built. There was a bridge we had to walk across that connected the classroom blocks to the "house" blocks. The pool even had its resident swans, and I remember one occasion when some joker emptied a bottle of ink over a swan and for days after you could see it paddling around with a big blue stain on its back. On another occasion a cygnet tried to take off, misjudged its flight, crashed into the bridge and was killed. |
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| argon new milton All posts by this member | 5 of 25 Wed 10th Oct 2012 4:19pm Member: Joined Jun 2016 Total posts:98 I went to Whitley Abbey's predecessor, Churchfield High School . The headmaster was Frederick William Lewis. He was a heavy smoker. When the school was transferred to Whitley Abbey some of us old pupils went to see him. I remember him bemoaning the fact that they hadn't built a swimming pool for the school. but had, I think, three gyms This always struck me as ironic as in my day we didn't even have a playing field and had to walk up to Stoke Heath playing fields from Brays Lane to play football. |
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| Meerkat All posts by this member Thread starter | 6 of 25 Wed 10th Oct 2012 4:20pm Member: Joined Oct 2012 Total posts:34 If I remember rightly the school had it's own fishing club. In the winter when the lake froze up the caretaker and the headmaster (Mr Lemon I think) would check the thickness of the ice and if they considered it safe the kids could go on the ice during dinner break, sounds crazy but it's true, today health and safety would close the school down for sure. |
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| Meerkat All posts by this member Thread starter | 7 of 25 Wed 10th Oct 2012 4:28pm Member: Joined Oct 2012 Total posts:34  On 10th Oct 2012 4:19pm, argon said:
I went to Whitley Abbey's predecessor, Churchfield High School . The headmaster was Frederick William Lewis. He was a heavy smoker. When the school was transferred to Whitley Abbey some of us old pupils went to see him. I remember him bemoaning the fact that they hadn't built a swimming pool for the school. but had, I think, three gyms This always struck me as ironic as in my day we didn't even have a playing field and had to walk up to Stoke Heath playing fields from Brays Lane to play football.
When I first started at Whitley Abbey in 1960 Frederick Lewis was still the headmaster, he retired after a couple of years, and the new head was called Mr.Lemon( I'm sure that was his name) he was quickly named Batman because he wore a black teachers gown. |
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| DBC Nottinghamshire All posts by this member | 8 of 25 Wed 10th Oct 2012 4:30pm Member: Joined Apr 2010 Total posts:169 On 10th Oct 2012 4:19pm, argon said:
The headmaster was Frederick William Lewis. He was a heavy smoker.
I think that must have been the same headmaster I mentioned above. If I remember correctly he had a small moustache which was stained with nicotine. |
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| DBC Nottinghamshire All posts by this member | 9 of 25 Wed 10th Oct 2012 4:56pm Member: Joined Apr 2010 Total posts:169 I have just found this picture of the lake,the bridge, a teaching block and even a swan! :-
the school
Edited by PhilipInCoventry, 10th Oct 2012 5:29 pm |
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| derbyskyblue west hallam, derbyshire All posts by this member | 10 of 25 Thu 11th Oct 2012 12:10am Member: Joined Apr 2011 Total posts:20 I have many happy memories of fishing the pool there. Most Saturday mornings I would venture there, was good fishing to be had as well. Biggest one I ever had was 8lb, but I did get snapped up by something while using 12lb line!
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| Rob Orland Historic Coventry All posts by this member | 11 of 25 Thu 11th Oct 2012 7:35am Webmaster: Joined Jan 2010 Total posts:1309 On 10th Oct 2012 3:41pm, LesMac said:
It was, I believe made by the monks that lived there. As at most monestries around the country a carp pool was made to provide fish for the monks to eat...
Unfortunately, the name "Whitley Abbey" only came about because of the building's likeness to an abbey - it was originally just a large mansion. Just one of those urban myths that's lasted the years I'm afraid!  |
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| berjay Bewdley Worcs. All posts by this member | 12 of 25 Sat 29th Jun 2013 6:12pm Member: Joined May 2013 Total posts:23 Rob, I remember I used to explore the old Whitley Abbey before the war and remember that there were many graffiti on the walls in Spanish. I found out later that Spanish refugees had been billeted there during that countries civil war |
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| daffyduck birmingham All posts by this member | 13 of 25 Fri 19th Jul 2013 11:00pm Member: Joined Jul 2013 Total posts:1 I went to Whitley Abbey between 1963 and 1968, I was in Hood house. I remember the bridge across the lake and a group of us jumping up and down on it to make it bounce. Have some good and not so good memories of the school. Bad ones include Mrs Duffy the English teacher.
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| PhilipInCoventry Holbrooks All posts by this member | 14 of 25 Sat 20th Jul 2013 6:50am Moderator: Joined Apr 2010 Total posts:3955 Good morning, daffyduck  & welcome to our Coventry Forum. Hope that you enjoy your time with us. |
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| Baz Coventry All posts by this member | 15 of 25 Sun 28th Jul 2013 9:56pm Member: Joined May 2012 Total posts:340 Does anyone remember or know a Mrs Eliott the PE Teacher. She started there in the 70's I believe and is still there. She did and still does the skiing trips and is part of the Netball team. (Please don't give bad remarks, as I married her sister) Always looking forward to looking at the past. |
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