‘This memorial to J. B. Fryer is a great part of the life of the School, a place of cherished memory to many Leightonians.’
S. W. Brown ‘The History of Leighton Park’ 1952The Opening of The Hospice 1923 Fryer House in the 21st century
It is my very great pleasure to introduce our celebration of the Centenary of Fryer House.
Fryer House holds a special place in the Leighton Park story, one that is revealed in this booklet. It is a timely reminder that Fryer has reflected the deeply held values of the School in its various incarnations. Those of you who knew the building in different guises over the years will recognise the enduring spirit and ethos.
Some sources of the word ‘Fryer’ trace its usage to the Old Norse ‘Frjo’ or ‘Frae’ meaning ‘seed’ or ‘offspring’. What seeds have been sown here by teachers, we cannot know, but we do know that the offspring of Fryer past have flourished and flowered into wonderful adults beyond the school. That surely would have been the hope and aspiration a century ago and remains the heart of our education today.
As the ribbons were cut and speeches made in 1923 I wonder what those august, assembled dignitaries, governors, staff
and pupils supposed Fryer House would achieve. Surely their hope, optimism and ambition have been richly fulfilled in the lives this building has touched and improved. Buildings are what allows things to happen, and Fryer House has allowed generations of young people here at the School to have a better experience, rooted in togetherness and community under its roof.
Thank you to John Allinson and those who have assisted him for his inimitable work in producing this booklet.
Thank you to all those, past and present who have made Fryer the wondrous place it has been for the last 100 years.
Matthew L S Judd Head Park House, February 2023The building whose centenary we are celebrating this year was not originally known as ‘Fryer House’. It was built as the School’s Hospice, replacing the more centrally located Sanatorium. Both these names would now be regarded as outmoded, and our modern equivalent is the Health Centre. It is interesting to note that sometimes the sanatorium was laconically referred to as the ‘hospitium’ as it was often used as a weekend guesthouse for visiting Old Leightonians.
It had been felt for some time that the Sanatorium, originally built in 1892, should be located away from the main teaching area of the School, and indeed the rooms were needed for Music teaching. The Sanatorium had stood on the site now occupied by Townson House, and indeed had been incorporated into Townson’s structure. And so it was that a new Hospice was built and opened in 1923.
The Hospice was given to the School by Anna and Dorothy Fryer, respectively the mother and sister of Joseph Bigland Fryer. Joseph was an Old Leightonian who had died in a tragic accident in Austria (see Inset)
Joseph came to the school from Howden-le-Wear, County Durham in 1912. He soon became a member of the Junior Essay Society.
He later made his mark in natural history work, drama and debating.
He was one of the first winners of the celebrated JBH Speech Competition.
He was clearly an ace goalkeeper for the first XI football team.
Joseph was a Quaker and registered as a conscientious objector. At his hearing at the Bishop Auckland Tribunal he gave the following statement:
“ I base my objections to all military service, combatant and noncombatant, on the teaching of Jesus Christ, which I believe was : That all men are brethren, and that the individual soul, however debased it may seem, is capable of such an infinite amount of good that I dare not take any man’s life; that the only true
method of changing the evil mind of men—which was the most important thing to do, is by trust in them and love of them ; and that indiscriminate violence, as applied in war, can never change men’s evil minds. It increases hate and evil passions, which can be overcome only by love and goodwill. Therefore, my actions should proceed from love of my fellow-man. I cannot see any circumstances in which I should be able deliberately to kill a man in love of him.”
The tribunal ruled that he should be granted exemption from combat if he joined the Friends’ Ambulance Unit.
Joseph’s tragic and untimely death occurred during a climbing holiday in Austria with friends from Kings College, Cambridge. He lost his footing on the Tuxer Joch, mountain near Innsbruck, when he paused to pluck some edelweiss. He fell down a precipice 300 feet deep and died from his injuries.
S.W. Brown, author of the 1952 ‘History of Leighton Park’ described the new Hospice building thus:
This is a lovely building in a glorious setting, on the rise beyond the pond and the farm, with fir trees left from the Black Fence plantation as its background It is a place fitted in every way for its purpose. Boys with mumps or measles, or with more serious illness, are taken there to relax under the very special care of the matron and the school doctor. And then, with convalescence, they sit out in the sun, which always seems to shine more brightly in that part of the park, or they play the Hospice games or
read the Hospice novels, always a little different from those found in the school libraries. This is a place of refuge, a place where new companionships are formed, a place where those oft-repeated acts of negligence that bring marks and censure from schoolmasters can be temporarily relegated, a place above all of sanity and gentlemanly behaviour.
The building continued to be solely the School’s Hospice for several decades. Mention must be made of the matrons, the key people responsible for creating and sustaining such a warm and caring atmosphere during this period. One such person was Sister Betty Dixon.
She worked at Leighton Park from 1936 to 1952 and she won the respect and affection of staff and pupils alike. Two of them wrote:
A trained nurse from one of the London teaching hospitals has all the qualities of a guardsman, a very high degree of training and skill, a fine sense of discipline and the utmost devotion to duty. In addition, Sr Dixon has the feminine virtues of cheerfulness, patience and tenderness. And, unless you have met Sister Dixon entertaining her “old boys” during O.L. weekend, living through the days again—days sometimes of the most exacting labour and difficulty—you cannot claim to know that august lady.
A number of major decisions about the future of the School were made by the Governors in 1960. One of them led to the inauguration, in 1962, of Fryer House- a boarding house for boys in their first year at the School. This was known as the Fourth Form, the equivalent of our present-day Year 9. The Governors wished to ensure that all School buildings were within the Park itself – some were located outside
the Park. So it was that Frensham, a rather fine house in Northcourt Avenue which had served as the Junior House, was replaced by Fryer. The Fryer boarding house for around 30 Y9 boys and the Hospice now coexisted in the one building.
Fryer continued in this hybrid mode until 1978.
The first two Housemasters, Gordon McKee and Brian Tomlinson were in post for a year each before taking charge of senior houses.
Michael Leach was Housemaster from 1964 to 1971. He is an OL and so he didn’t take long to acclimatise. In fact, Michael is unique in that he has known Fryer/The Hospice in its five different phases, starting with a visit to the Hospice for a medical check-up when he was a pupil! Michael went on to give years of service as Housemaster of Grove. His has been a massive contribution to the life of Leighton Park.
Michael was followed by Bob Hudson, who, with his wife Anna and their three sons, lived in the adjacent, newly built house ‘Fryer’s Orchard’. Bob’s kindness, patience, wisdom and espousal of Quaker values were among the qualities that he brought to the job. What a privilege it was for the current Archivist (the author!) to begin his teaching career as Bob’s assistant!
Both Michael and Bob worked alongside Miriam Arthurs. For 13 years, Miriam had the joint responsibility of being the Hospice Matron and Housekeeper/Matron for Fryer House. She had a huge job and she had the personality, grit, competence and personal warmth to discharge her responsibilities wonderfully well.
The chapters that Michael Leach and Miriam Arthurs wrote for the publication ‘Leighton Park: the First Hundred Years’ are recommended reading. The digital copy of this book can be found on the LP Archives website: www.leightonparkarchives.com
It was another momentous decision on the part of the Board of Governors that brought about the next major change for Fryer/The Hospice. In 1975 the first girls were admitted to the Sixth Form. Although they were members of the boys’ boarding houses for pastoral and social purposes, they went home either to their own homes or to the homes of local members of staff and friends of the School. However, within a year or two the number of girls increased and girls’ hostels were created in Fryer and Grove House. By 1979 Fryer had ceased to be a house for Y9 boys and had become a hostel for up to 30 girls.
The Hospice sister Janet Johnston was appointed Warden of the girls’ hostel, and a year or two later the responsibility for the girls’ hostel was passed to Tom and Maggie Harrison. After considerable research and reflection, in the early 1980s the then Headmaster, Jim Hunter, and the Governors decided to open the School to the 11 to 13 age-group. Fryer House became a remodelled junior house for boys in the equivalent of Y7 and Y8. and in 1985, the first year of this new arrangement, 35 boys joined the House. The inspirational leadership of Bob Boyd, assisted by his wife Jane, gave a great start to the new version of Fryer House. It was a immediate success, and this success has been built upon ever since, thanks especially to Bob’s successors Martin Morris, Bob Middleton, Roger Aylward, Nicky Williams and Adrian Stewart. They would all agree that the continued successful development of Fryer is also due to the hard work and enthusiasm of their colleagues and, indeed, the boys and girls under their care. The implementation of full co-education throughout the School in 1993 was another welcome move. Fryer was adapted to enable it to take 80 pupils. This continuing expansion is illustrated in the selection of house photographs in this short account of the history of a remarkable building.
Fryer House 1975 with Housemaster Bob Hudson 3rd from right middle row
Fryer House 1986 with Bob Boyd (Master) 2nd row 4th from left
Fryer House 1990. Martin Morris (Master) seated with dog
Fryer House 2009. Roger Aylward (Housemaster) seated centrally - striped tie
Fryer House 2018 with Housemaster Adrian Stewart seated centrally
Fryer House 1996 with Bob Middleton (Master)