Hove in the Past: Connaught Road Schools, Hove.

Judy Middleton 2002 (revised 2024)

In July 1882 plans for the new school were drawn up by Thomas Simpson of 16 Church Street, Brighton. The contractor was the well-known John T. Chappell. The schools fronted Connaught Road, and from north to south, contained the teacher’s entrance, the infants’ entrance, and the girls’ entrance; as shown on the plans the boys’ entrance was at the north east side of Occupation Road or from Stirling Terrace (Occupation Road no longer exists). There were hopes at one time that the Gas Company would give permission for a road to be made on the east side of the schools, but this was never forthcoming. The twitten linking Stirling Place to Connaught Road was not created until the 1920s. The boys, girls and infants all had separate playgrounds with separate blocks of outside lavatories for their use. The staff had the luxury of indoor facilities.

The schools were officially opened on 14 July 1884, and there were 229 boys, 160 girls and 241 infants. The cost of the site was £2,600, while the buildings cost £9,580. A drawing of the exterior dated June 1883 shows a cupola and weather vane on the roof. Today the terracotta embellishments above the main entrance have become eroded by the weather.

In September 1893 Thomas Simpson’s plans for a new workroom and science laboratories were approved, and cost £1,332. In 1900 Clayton & Black designed additions to the boys’ workshop. In 1903 the assistance of Thomas Simpson was again sought for a new cookery school on the site.

Girls

When the school opened in 1884 Ellen Roney was the head, and she was assisted by Harriette Wingham who lasted no longer than a month and was replaced by Miss A. B. Sinden; Emily Lister was a supply teacher.

At first every afternoon the girls were kept busy with their needlework ‘there being lap bags to make, towels, dusters etc to hem’. By 1885 the girls had settled into a regular timetable and the Inspector was most impressed. In his report he wrote that the school did credit to Miss Roney, there was a good staff of teachers, while the ‘kitchen, with apparatus for teaching practical cookery is certainly the best I have seen.’

In 1889 the Inspector was not at all pleased when he discovered that the cookery teacher was not properly qualified. He thundered that the only training school of cookery in London was the South Kensington School of Cookery. Although for that year there would be a cookery grant, it would not be paid again until the matter was rectified.

Discipline

Miss Roney was a strict disciplinarian, and at that time it was accepted practice for girls to be caned on their fingers or hands for bad behaviour. For example, on 3 October 1884 Matilda Moran received two strokes on each hand for insubordination. On 20 November 1884 Elizabeth Mitchell was given several taps on her fingers for ‘wilful neglect of lessons’. On 2 March 1885 E. Moran received two strokes on each hand for pushing a girl on the swing, contrary to the rules, with the result that the girl fell of and bruised her face.

In 1886 a circular stated that corporal punishment must be delivered in the presence of one other teacher. In May 1887 there was quite a problem with Jane Harris who received a total of ten strokes on four different occasions in one month. At her second punishment, she screamed loudly, and was sent outside the door, whereupon she ran home; when she returned to school she was given two strokes for leaving without permission. In September 1887 young Ethel even received one stroke for being careless about her needlework. In July 1894 two girls received one stroke each for climbing a palisade in Sackville Road and picking flowers.

Results

However, Miss Roney certainly achieved educational results. For example, in 1896 the Inspector praised her very hard work because the percentage of passes in elementary subjects had risen from 87 to 93. Again in 1887 he wrote ‘ the school on the whole deserve the highest merit grant.’

Sometimes the timetable had to be juggled, and in June 1886 it was so overcrowded that domestic economy and elementary science had to be dropped. In June 1895 handwriting and needlework were put aside to concentrate on drawing, there being an examination on the subject in the offing. It paid dividends because in the same year the teaching of drawing was recognised as excellent. Nelly Warren must have been a star pupil because in August 1895 she received a special prize for good attendance for the ninth time.

Hove Recreation Ground Opening

On 2 May 1891 the grand opening of Hove Recreation Ground took place; there was a long procession of Hove school-children, and the teachers who accompanied the Connaught contingent were as follows:

Mr Rees

Mr Leatherdale

Mr Sweetman

Mr Hansford

Miss Roney

Miss Holdup

Miss Hollamby

Miss A. A. Hollamby

Miss L. Hollamby

Miss Burdick

Miss Penfold

Miss Harris

Miss Salisbury

Miss Jenkins

Miss Gladman

Mr H. Redish and Mr Tilmey would have joined in too but as they were also members of the Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, they were in London on guard duty at the opening of the Naval Exhibition.

An Unusual Scholar

The Hove Gazette (19 February 1898) recorded the fact that there was an unusual scholar at the school. She was 11-year old Ipotsen Molifhi from Shoshong, Bechuanaland, the daughter of one of the three chiefs who accompanied King Khama on his recent journey to England. Ipotsen was in the care of a lady living in Hove, the wife of a missionary serving in Africa.

Scholarships

The standard of education at Connaught was obviously high because the children frequently won scholarships. For example, on 29 May 1897 a scholarship exam was held – open to all the children attending public elementary schools in Hove. The two minor scholarships were worth £15 a year, tenable for two years. For poor families it made a big difference because fees were still payable at Connaught, although in 1892 fees were abolished at Ellen Street and Farman Street Schools. The fees had to be paid at the start of each week, and it cost two pennies a week for the infants and three pennies a week for the juniors. In 1907 an extra penny was added.

In 1897 ten boys and sixteen girls took the exam, and five boys and eight girls passed. James Hayden of Connaught Boys and Beatrice E. Wright of Connaught Girls gained the highest marks. It was a similar story in 1899 when Frank Hancock was the highest scoring boy with 256, and Clara A. Mitchell was the highest scoring girl with 261. In 1902 Connaught again emerged at the top with Arthur J. Manley and Ernest A. Hayler both scoring 276 out of a possible 350.

Full House

Connaught had enough accommodation for 706 children, but by July 1904 there were 736 on the books. The rise was caused by a huge demand for school places in the west part of Hove.

However, it seems standards were maintained. The Inspector’s report in 1904 was more than satisfactory. For boys he wrote ‘this is a singularly efficient school. Discipline is excellent and plans of instruction are thoughtfully prepared and successfully carried out. Mr Rees and his staff deserve great credit.’

For the girls, the Inspector wrote ‘the highly commendable efficiency of this school is maintained under the careful and able supervision of Miss Roney. Teaching throughout the classes is intelligent and successful and written work is exceptionally good.’ The junior mixed school was ‘well-ordered and well taught’ while the discipline and instruction in the Infants’ School was quite satisfactory.

Problems

When the Inspector called in 1905 it must have been a chilly day because he found both the main rooms in the Boys’ School and the Girls’ School to be ‘insufficiently warmed.’ His warning was duly noted, and in the same year a new heating apparatus was installed at a cost of £324-19-5d.

In 1906 the report for the boys was not quite so rosy, and the Inspector was of the opinion that the curriculum was overloaded; he thought the shorthand and book-keeping lessons should be dropped. He must have had to hold his nose too when inspecting the lavatories where the smell was ‘frequently unpleasant;’ he recommended a more liberal use of disinfectant.

The year 1917 was an eventful one; the Infants’ School was closed for a time because of an epidemic of measles, then a double shift was introduced because of the First World War. The Davigdor Road School had been taken over and converted into a military hospital, and thus the children were obliged to share premises with Connaught Road children. The Connaught children were taught from 8.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. while the Davigdor children had their lessons from 1.30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Some Teachers

Some of the teachers gave years of service to the Connaught Schools. Cecil W. Gentry was a teacher for 43 years, starting in 1895 and retiring in October 1938. He had taught at Davigdor School before becoming first assistant master at Connaught. When Gentry retired, headmaster Mr G. Ralph presented him with a handsome clock, and there was also a neat little bedroom clock for Mrs Gentry.

Alfred George Steers taught at Connaught from 1898 to 1931, and then he left to become head of the Junior Boys in Portland Road (West Hove Schools). He died in 1963 at the age of 90.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
1933 aerial photograph of the Connaught Road Schools in the shadow of Hove's Gasholders.
The gasholders were demolished in the late 1990s to make way for a Tesco Supermarket.

Post War Re-arrangements

In the 1940s there was a re-organisation of Hove schools, and part of Connaught became Hove Manor Secondary Modern School. At one time there were almost 500 boys on the site but by July 1964 the number had dwindled to 250 because of the shift of population to new housing estates. But the Infants’ School remained on site in six classrooms on the ground floor. There were six teachers, and the head teacher was appointed in 1950 after a post-war stint teaching in West Germany. It was noted as being a successful school.

At the end of the summer term in 1967 Hove Manor School closed down. Two-thirds of the pupils went to Knoll Boys’ School, and the remainder to Nevill Secondary School.

However, Connaught First School remained on site but by 1982 it was under threat of closure. Parents and governors fought to keep it open, and Anthony Prior, chairman of the governors, stated that there was a 100-year old covenant stipulating that the site should only be used for educational purposes.

In 1984 it was announced the school would close that July – ironically the very year the school celebrated its centenary. The 70 pupils, aged from four to eight, would be transferred to West Hove School or Davigdor School.

Mrs Hazel Dunford, the Connaught headmistress, organised a special concert to celebrate the centenary, and invited former pupils to attend. The oldest ex-pupil to come forward was 81-year old Herbert Green who attended the school in 1910. He remembered the two-hour dinner break (no school dinners then) and the children either went home for lunch, or brought sandwiches with them to eat in a nearby orchard that once existed at the back of the old Fire Station in Hove Street.

Famous Old Boys

Alfred Bader (1924-2018) – Bader started at the school on 14 February 1939, having just arrived from Vienna on board the first ‘kindertransport’ to rescue Jewish children. Bader enjoyed his time at the school and he wrote ‘my respect for the British is based more on my education at that school than on anything else.’ In Form 3A his French teacher was Madame Fuller, an elderly lady with a poor French accent. In Form 4 Mr Dimberline was the master, and often lectured the boys on the virtue of washing behind the ears but warned them against chewing gum. Another teacher, Mrs Bessy Emanuel, helped him to gain entry to Brighton Technical College – boys left school aged fourteen in those days. The headmaster, George Ralph, wrote a recommendation stating that Bader had made remarkable progress and was very honest and trustworthy. Apparently Bader was astonished at Connaught because boys owned up to their wrong doings, despite the fact that there was probably a canning in store. Such behaviour in Vienna would have been considered madness.

Bader later became a distinguished chemist, art collector and dealer. In 1993 he gave £6 million to Queen’s University, Canada, to enable them to purchase and restore Herstmonceux Castle in Sussex.

Jack (John Henry) Dugnolle (1914-1977 – He was born in Peshawar, India, where his father was serving in the Royal Sussex Regiment. In the 1920s Jack was part of the soccer team at Connaught that was so good they only lost one match in two years; the team thought nothing of going out and winning by 9 goals to nil. Jack was involved with football all his life, playing for Brighton & Hove Albion and Plymouth Argyle. After he retired he wrote Soccer Simplified.

George Harold Pusey Hunt – In 1941 he was Acting Petty Officer of the Fleet Air Arm when he was awarded the medal of the military division of the Order of the British Empire for his service in Norway.

Humphrey Mitchell – When he left Connaught, he became apprenticed to the electrical trade, and ad the age of eighteen he emigrated to Canada. When the First World War broke out he returned to England to fight with the armed forces. In 1919 he married he married Violet Webb who had also been educated at Connaught. Back in Canada, Mitchell became a keen trade unionist, and in 1931 he was elected as an MP. He became Canadian Minister of Labour from 1941 to at least 1948.

Eric Townsend (1914-1976) – He was born and died at Hove, and he was a dazzling schoolboy footballer. In 1930 Brighton & Hove Albion took him on as an amateur; the following year he turned professional. Aged seventeen he was the youngest player ever to turn out for Albion until the record was broken in 1953. Great things were expected of Townsend but when he was nineteen a heart defect was diagnosed and he was obliged to retire.

Head Teachers

Boys

1890s – Mr Rees

1930s to c. 1951 George Ralph

1950s – R. S. Rothwell

Girls

1884 – Miss Ellen Roney

1920s – Miss L. M. Gibson

1920s to c. 1932 – Miss J. E. Ingham

1930s – Miss E. M. Howlett

1940 to 1970 – Miss B. L. Wright

1970 – Mrs V. E. R. Lawson

Hove Manor School

R. S. Rothwell

Connaught Adult Education Centre

When the school closed in 1984, several suggestions were made about the future of the building. It could be used for housing, or as day centre for mentally handicapped youngsters, or for library purposes. Indeed, the Schools Library Service became based there.

Then in January 1987 a further threat was revealed in the ambitious plans for a new shopping mall that would mean the demolition of Connaught. In the event the scheme came to nothing while Connaught thrived as an adult education centre. In 1987 it was stated that there were 2,000 students, and 60 part-time teachers.

It is ironic to note that during the Great Gale of October 1987 the grand old Connaught building remained virtually intact with not a single tile being blown off the roof, while newer buildings suffered extensive damage. One such was the Downs Special School in Portslade, and there were protests when it was decided that 80 of their pupils would have to be accommodated at Connaught while their school was repaired.

By 2001 Connaught was still going strong as an adult education centre, although no longer under the jurisdiction of East Sussex County Council but now was managed by Brighton College of Technology on behalf of Brighton & Hove Council.

But by 2022 the building was surplus to requirements. Perhaps the building holds a record of sorts in the number of names attached to it over the years. Besides the ones already mentioned, it has also been the Connaught Day Centre, the Connaught Annexe and until 2022 West Hove Primary School was there.

In 2024 the building will become the Jeanne Saunders Centre, which is a specialist nursery formerly located at Penny Gobby House, 31 Palmeira Avenue. At this house there were four stories – not at all suitable for the purpose, whereas at Connaught there will be adequate space on the ground floor for different spaces. The centre caters for children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). It provides individual education and specialist nursery care.

It was stated that the building had been valued at £800,000, and the sale money would be placed in the council’s Corporate Capital Strategy. Since the building was entirely Hove’s at its inception, it is a shame that the money could not have been ring-fenced to be spent on Hove.

Sources

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove

The Hovarian (June 2024)

The Keep

ESC 104/3 – Connaught Road Schools Log Book (Girls) 1884-1929

page layout and additional research by D.Sharp

12 October 2024

Connaught Road Schools, Hove.