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(click to enlarge)

Someone who wishes to remain anonymous has suggested a page to record memories of life in the Houses and we're happy to oblige with a mostly blank canvas apart from some dusty items from the copy box, so it's over to you!   The diagram at left shows that structure has seen many changes over the years, with a peak of complexity around 1970.  Further details are provided on the Family Trees page.

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I was in Salisbury, which in my first year was in Kett Hall with Canterbury, and in my second year we moved to Peel, which we shared with Norwich. We used to visit the girls in Wells for "mixed teas." Then we finally moved to Fry in my third year as a mixed House. From memory, when the Houses were single sex, although the buildings had names, they weren't in general use so it wasn't as complicated as it sounds.

Also the demarcation point between the Houses was the door between the 8 dorms upstairs and the centre divider of the dining room downstairs. If you think about it, that meant that the Matron could go out of her flat at either end and still be in her own House.

Colin Leaford

In Canterbury House (circa 1961-63) the fire keys were easily removed from their boxes on the walls by prising off the beading at the top and sliding the glass upwards ... it was then a simple matter to open the connecting door to the Salisbury dorm next door and lob a water bomb onto some poor unsuspecting person … shut the door, lock it and lie back and listen to the ensuing row as someone screamed (which they always did) and Biffo Bawden dealt with the matter! Nasty sneaky thing to do ... what I still don't understand was that the people next door *never* seemed to register what was going on!  Were those boxes still there when the Houses went mixed? The mind boggles if they were!

David Mills

The fireboxes were not needed when the Houses went mixed, as the doors were permanently unlocked. The "split" was turned the "other" way so that girls' dorms were over the archway and the boys were over the dining room. That put the staff flats between the girls' and boys' dorms.

Colin Farrington

Lincoln had a fish pond in the courtyard so birthday dips were common; we also used to paint the windows at Christmas time; we were lucky enough to have a full sized snooker table too.

Sue Pearson (Wilson)

Re the 6th Form Hall (Lincoln); they decided that 6th formers were just too dangerous to have around 11 year olds I guess. The biggest issue I can remember was the dorms. The lower 6th had waited years to get their own rooms, & bingo, they ended up back in the 8 dorm. I think there were only 4 or 5 in there, but it was a privacy thing & who can blame them? I think now they have partitioned them off to make more singles. The 7ths had to share rooms as well, but in side rooms it wasn't so bad.- it was easier to borrow the iron to make toast!

Morag Ward

I have a question for all you young ones that were present from the late '70s onwards. What ever happened to inter-House competitions? Or is anything that competitive no longer 'PC?'

Up to the mid-Seventies, at least, there was a regular set of inter-House competitions for most of the sports activities, so you had rugby matches, football matches, swimming galas, cross country competitions and many more. This would be set up for each age group. How did this work when all the first years for example were in one House? Also with all the sixth/seventh years moving out?

Steve Grant

The competitions were still ongoing when I left in 1983, even (unfortunately) the Mair Cup. It was the 4 lower Houses against each other & Peel vs. Lincoln for the 6th & 7th's. What has happened since they put all the babies in the same House I don't know, perhaps one of the younger folk (gee it hurts to say that) will know.

Gary Johnson

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Wymondham College Remembered