THE PETE RITE ol. XLVIII
FEBRUARY, 1956
No. 341
EDITORIAL In these days when the authorities are pressing on with necessary alterations and additions to the School premises as quickly as financial circumstances permit, one returns after the long Summer holiday with a confident anticipation that something will have been done in our absence. When we reassembled in September for the. Christmas Term we found that our confidence was justified. The long weeks during which the buildings could be surrendered to armies of workmen had not been wasted. The alterations to the Grove had been made, and the interior of the Chapel had been reconstructed and redecorated. The vast improvement in the internal appearance of the Chapel is, we think, beyond all argument. Designed as it was in a period when architectural taste was not at its best—the building was erected in 1862—our Chapel could not have been described by the most loyal Peterite as anything but adequate. Yet, one felt, the strictly utilitarian planning of the interior held possibilities; and Mr. Pace, the architect responsible for the recent changes, has not been slow to appreciate them. The tasteful decoration has emphasised the impressive loftiness of the timbered roof and the generally pleasing proportions of the building as a whole; and the addition of an arched gallery at the west end has contributed greatly to the dignity of the interior, as well as providing a much-needed addition to the accommodation. The atmosphere of somewhat depressing gloom has been banished, and the Chapel has acquired a cheerful and spacious dignity which has enhanced its spiritual influence. Other things remain to be done— notably the replacement of the existing furnishings—but we can congratulate ourselves that a splendid step has been taken towards the provision of a worthy House in which we may worship God. The pages of this number devoted to O.P. News bear witness to the rapid proliferation of Old Peterite dinners. The West Riding dinner, inaugurated last year, was repeated with enthusiasm. The Oxford dinner, held at Worcester College, was a welcome revival. (Like its Cambridge counterpart—and, may we add, the University letters to the Peterite—it makes only sporadic appearances.) But the Manchester dinner, for which T. J. Lewis was responsible, was an entirely new departure. These gatherings of regional groups of Peterites in addition to the old-established York and London dinners are a gratifying tribute to the strength of the tie which binds together 1