Down Memory Lane

With Rydal Penrhos Society members

Diana Smith (nee Wildblood) (PC 1961-67)

Former School Governor (1998-2008)

Former President of the Rydal Penrhos Society (2011/12) has recently written to us asking for help. She says “I am currently on holiday with a friend of mine whose mother went to Penrhos College in the 1920’s.
Her name was Nancy Barrett (christened Annie Adeline Barrett) and she was born in 1917 and went to Penrhos at the age of 7. My friend would love to know the dates she attended Penrhos, the house she was in and any other information you can find out about her during her time at school or any relevant school photos of this period. The family came from Cheshire. Can anyone help please?"Diana also wrote to say : "A few of us 1960’s Penrhos girls met for lunch in Pimlico after 3 years of not seeing each other due to Coronavirus. We are planning another get together in London in the autumn so if anyone else wants to join us then contact Anne Whitby.""L-R: Nicky (Bayliss) Sinclair, Anne Whitby, Avril (Nickson) Marcus, Alex Mann, Diana (Wildblood) Smith, Janet (Hughes) McGill, Mary (Drake) HarrisonBest wishes, Diana (PC 1961-67)"Quirky StoriesTwo old Penrhosians/Rydalians recently visited the school for a visit to view some of the old pieces of uniform, the photo gallery, stained glass windows and the Rosa Hovey room as well as to see the recent renovation of the Osborn Hall.

Elizabeth Funair (nee Tomlinson) (PC 1975-84) and Edwina Hett (PC 1977-83 RS 1983-85) started their school life in Penrhos Junior and recounted to current staff at the school (Debbie McCluskey (PC 1973-82, RS 1982-84) ad hoc Vice President of the Rydal Penrhos Society and School Registrar and Mrs Anne Wallace, current parent at the school, PA to the Executive Principal and Mrs Maria McLean, Commerical Manager at the school) just a few quirky facts about being in Penrhos Junior from a very early age as boarders.They said they will keep in touch and contribute lots more interesting and fun facts about school life and they would love to hear other peoples recollections to, so they might be shared.This time they reminded us that:-

The child who had received the highest marks that week got to sound the gong in the hall to signal that it was time for lunch.

All junior school girls had their own engraved silver napkin rings for meals complete with linen napkins.

No talking was allowed through meals and the portion size you wanted was ordered using a series of interesting hand signs.

At the end of the meal Miss Hassell, the headmistress would then ring a little bell and 5 minutes of talking was allowed.

Elizabeth Tomlinson with our portrait of Rosa Hovey , Liz was in Hovey House when in Penrhos College.

Liz, Debbie and Edwina with the Rosa Hovey Scholarship board behind, in the Hovey room in "Old House" at Rydal Penrhos, one of the most used rooms in the whole school for important meetings with parents, governors, staff and prefects.

Kay Hassell with the picture of Penrhos Junior she was given after retirement. She's giving it to Rydal Penrhos for all to enjoy as a lasting memory of Junior School. Kay is quite simply absolutely fabulous at 93!Thank you to Deena Ingham (PC 1970-78), who was in Ashcroft house before moving to Beardsworth for her final year, for this lovely photo and for delivering the painting to us.

Ms Deborah McKinnel JP, Chair of Governors, with Mr Pollard, a former teacher and House Master at Rydal, during the recent Rydal Penrhos U16 Rugby 7s tournament.

Thank you to John Bryan-Williams (RS 1960-66) for helping us identify the four ORs in our last newsletter as (from left to right): Antonio Mundel (RS 1959-65), Ian Winter (RS 1960-63), David Blackburn (RS 1959-63) and Peter 'Don' Gibson (RS 1959-65).

John has kindly forwarded us another photo and hopes that our readers may be able to name these musical ORs.

Discovering Penrhos CollegeYour request in the latest newsletter asking if anyone could identify the girls in the old archive photos inspired me to try to find out more about my grandmother who was also an OP.Unfortunately, I cannot help you identify anyone in your photos, but I thought you, or someone else with an interest in Penrhos history might like to read the following. I shall not be at all upset if this is not of interest to anyone, but decided to send it just in case!My grandmother was Dorothy Entwistle Greenhalgh, born Nov 22 1892. I do not have the exact years she was at school, but if you have this information I would love to know. Her family lived in Bolton, and she is on the 1911 census at Penrhos.I have a few things from her time at school:

some photos, of her plus several of other, I’m afraid un-named, girls - some of which have deteriorated with age, but are attached

3 postcards sent to her from Kathleen Watt, who calls her Twistle (presumably a reference to her middle name)

2 form prizes dated 7th October 1911 – one the form 1Va form prize for sewing which is a leather-bound copy of Pickwick Papers with the school crest imprinted on the cover. The other was the form 1Va prize for piano – some Chopin waltzes, again with the Penrhos crest on the hardback cover. (I am puzzled though that she was in form 1Va at the age of 17?).

*She also had a type of autograph book in which there is an entry from Rosa Hovey – see attached. This also contained several other entries from names that have PC by them which are wonderful – some are poems, quotations or beautiful drawings. The names are: Margaret (Chenny) Chenhalls, Madge Kempsey, Norah Linnell, Dora Willatt, J Eckersley, Kathleen Watt, Dora Sankey, Phyliss “Billy” Seargeant and RA Clayton. I guess some of these may have been other teachers?She kept in touch with her friend Norah Linnell (Mrs Myers) until her death in 1975. Norah was godmother to her daughter/my aunt Barbara, and both my grandmother and Norah used to visit me together when I was at school!*I also have a copy of the book ‘Penrhos 1880-1930’, signed by Rosa Hovey. (I also have the 2nd 50 years’ book by Monica Beardsworth)After leaving school, she worked as a Red Cross nurse in the Imperial Hotel, Blackpool which was being used as a militaryl hospital during WW1, and won several golf trophies at Bolton golf club – some of which are solid silver rose bowls etc – and that was for runners up – how times have changed!! She married Arnold Coates in 1921, having been engaged for 6 years during the war, and had 2 children including my father. She obviously had really appreciated her time at PC as I discovered after my school days that she had actually paid my school fees (1968 -74). My sister Philippa Coates, now Mrs Nason was at Penrhos from 1979 – 1986.But one thing I did not know until I started Googling information in the last couple of days was that she played the piano with a C Holmes at the prize-giving and opening of the new Junior school by Lloyd George in 1910!! (“C Holmes and D Greenhalgh delighted the company with a clever rendering of L D Ourville’s ‘Tarantelle’“) I guess this ties in nicely with her form prize for piano! I was stunned to read this in the following really interesting newspaper article - both from a personal point of view and so many social and political historical aspects -Penrhos College for Girls, Colwyn Bay | The North Wales Weekly News - Welsh Newspaperswhich I guess you will have seen. I was amazed that they seemed to be the only pupils performing during the ceremony that day. What an honour!! And her parents were there to observe it.I hope you don’t mind me writing with all this information, but I have an interest in family history and know others do too.Best wishesLiz Miller (nee Elizabeth Lonsdale Coates at Penrhos in Yorke House 1968-74)