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Thanks to James Slater (1974-1978) who noticed the request for information about the San we have the following article which originally appeared in the Autumn 1977 Beckside written by Margaret Alderson. Most of the boarders down the years will have spent some time in the San and will find this fascinating reading: THE SANATORIUM
Prior to the 1920's the school owned land up to and including the railway line, with fields that had names going back to the Middle Ages, such as "Middle Dyke" and "Bath Field." the boundary of the property was in the middle of Dykes Beck, and on the southern side in the 1920s the frontage was from the Little Ayton junction to Cockerill's shop. They owned the property as far as that on both sides of Eagle Street, or Station Road as at is now known. In addition during the 1920s they bought Herdholt which stands opposite Leven Hall. It was a wonderful inheritance for future generations, but for the past fifty years it has had to be sold to enable the school to meet its debts and develop the other side of the estate. I felt that, for this "Beckside" it would be worthwhile giving a resume of the life and construction of the San, as I have never read an article about it. How right I was: research has been difficult. The fact that furniture was bought for the San is recorded in the Committee minutes, but these do not record its erection. "The Beckside", School Diary, and A.O.S.A. magazines have proved equally unhelpful, but these do record the fact that school was without a san for the Autumn Term of 1921, and that the new Sanatorium was brought into use in the Spring of 1922. I should imagine that the coming of Rawdon scholars to Ayton in that year presented the school committee with many building problems. We were fortunate that Mrs. Hogkin offered the Village Hall to the school for the sum of £500. This meant the school could use it as a gymnasium and Assembly Hall thus releasing the old gym, which was incorporated into the '21 or Rawdon Block, The sick bay at that time was in Chestnut House having moved there from the nursery - now the caretaker's house - some years before. The house was renamed Rawdon House, and became the home of A. L. Stapleton, who returned to Ayton with the Rawdon scholars. During the Autumn of 1921, the school took back the cultivation of 5 acres of land it had previously rented out, and on which stood the old gasworks. Here the Sanatorium was erected. I was very fortunate that, after I had roughed out the notes for this article, I picked up a book which was titled "The North of England Agricultural School General Purposes Committee 1921-33." In the index, under the letter 5, there were eight. references to the San. At last I could get the facts as recorded by the Committee for posterity instead of relying on hearsay. On page 18, dated 13th May 1921, minute 11 says "It is proposed to erect a temporary Sanatorium which is thought should be done for £1,000." By July 1921 the Committee recorded: "It is decided to erect the Sanatorium in the School Garden, immediately behind the site formerly occupied by the gasworks." Hellam's Timber Co. Ltd., whose owner, William Hallam, was a member of the Committee, offered to erect "a plain Sanatorium with a single span roof of 100 feet by 40 feet at a cost of about £2,000, this price to include drains, water, and lighting on a 10% basis. This offer was accepted, and Arthur Pearson and George Wilson were asked to do the building and plumbing works respectively. The work must have been put into operation very quickly, because it was ready for occupation in the Spring of 1922. Go to Page
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AYTON SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVES |
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