Farfield

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Farfield is one of the seven boarding houses at Gresham's, an English public school at Holt, Norfolk. It was opened in 1911, and the first housemaster (Major JC Miller) and boys were transferred there from a smaller house called Bengal Lodge. Farfield is currently home to approximately fifty boys. Many former residents have achieved success or notoriety in a number of different fields.

1 Notable alumni
2 Notable Features
3 Housemasters
4 Traditions
5 Roll of Honour
6 Links
7 References

[edit] Notable alumni

Wystan Hugh Auden (1920-1925) - poet
Jeremy Bamber (1974-1979) - mass murderer
Benjamin Britten (1928-1930) - composer and conductor
Norman Cohn (1929-1933) - historian and Fellow of the British Academy
Donald Cunnell (1909-1910) - World War I flying ace who shot down and injured the Red Baron
Nigel Dick (1966-1971) - music video director
Sir Philip Dowson (1938-1942) - architect and President of the Royal Academy
Ralph Firman (1988-1993) - Formula 1 racing driver
Stephen Frears (1954-1959) - Oscar-nominated film director
Dr Colin Leakey (1947-1952) - botanist
Paddy O'Connell (1978-1983) - BBC radio and television presenter
Lord Reith (1904-1906) - first Director General of the BBC and politician
Sir John Tusa (1949-1954) - TV presenter and managing director of the BBC World Service
Tom Wintringham (1912-1915) General Strike planner, commander of the British contingent of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War, founder of The Daily Worker (subsequently The Morning Star)
Major General A. E. Younger (1933-1937) - soldier

[edit] Notable Features

Between August and September the Farfield Lawn is home to one of the finest colonies in Great Britain of the orchid Spiranthes Spiralis, also known as Autumn Ladies'-tresses.
The Grand Piano located in the common room is a Bechstein given to the school by The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers in 1900. It is widely believed that Benjamin Britten used this piano to write his Anthem A Hymn to the Virgin.

[edit] Housemasters

The symbol of Farfield is an owl

Major JC Miller¹	1904-1920
EA Robertson	1920-1928
GR Thompson	1929-1936
AB Douglas²	1936-1957
BW Sankey	1957-1965
WO Thomas	1965-1980
RW Coleman	1980-1988
GB Worrall	1988-1998
AA Edwards	1998-2003
JRP Thomson	2003-Present

_{1 In Bengal Lodge until 1911}
_{2 The school was evacuated to Newquay during the years 1940-1945}

[edit] Traditions

An Entertainment is held every March featuring music, sketches and dramatic excerpts.
The ritual of House Prayers is maintained in Farfield on three evenings per week. This is a short evening service, organised by the prefects (senior pupils), which consists of a hymn, a reading and a prayer, and concludes with the familiar mantra "Goodnight Boys".
The symbol of Farfield is an owl.

[edit] Roll of Honour

The Following Old Boys of Bengal Lodge and Farfield gave their lives during the Great War of 1914-1918:

Armitage SW, Aveling LN, Barratt GR, Beeton RH, Biden LTGV, Brownsword DA, Cole AH, Crosse ECM, Crosse MEB, Cunnell DC, Davies LFStJ, Ellis JC, Frost GK, Johnson GB, Kirch C, Robinson HHK, Rumsby RW, Shepherd CA, Simpson JH, Thorn H, Wilson IM & Wright JMS

[edit] Links

[1] Photo from the Britten-Pears library
[2] Newsletter of the Auden Society

[edit] References

The History and Register of Gresham's School, 1555-1954 (Ipswich, 1955);
I Will Plant Me a Tree: an Illustrated History of Gresham's School (James & James, London, 2002)
The Gresham Magazine Vol. III & IV
Gresham's School online

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Categories: 1911 establishments | Norfolk