Cover Story

Never before has Uppingham’s exodus to Borth been so relevant

Our cover image from 1877 marks one of the most significant periods in Uppingham’s history and the story holds a new resonance and poignancy to the School’s experiences this year.

In the 1870s, Uppingham’s streets were dirty, there was no mains water supply and the town’s sewer was defective. The air on The Middle playing fields was almost unbreathable for the stench of rot and decay. With raw sewage leaking into the soil and polluted wells, the School was fully aware of the dangers it faced from disease and illness with contamination of the water supply.

Headmaster Thring’s concerns became reality when an epidemic of typhoid fever struck the town. Within a month of the first case, numbers increased to 46 and before long there were five deaths, including a pupil in the Lower School and the son of the West Deyne Housemaster. Staff and parents were incredibly anxious, the School’s entire existence hung in the balance. After much consideration, Thring’s extraordinary response was to find a safe haven and evacuate the entire population of the School to Borth, a small fishing village in Wales. On 17th March 1876, a goods train with 18 trucks left Seaton Station, laden with 300 beds, desks and all the equipment required, even the vast horse-drawn roller which kept the pitches on The Upper smooth. Parents were notified of the move and pupils summoned to follow, as they were instructed to arrive in Borth

1876: Borth boys on The Esplanade 1877 and a warm welcome home: original photo from the School archives, recolourised for our cover image

on 4th April. Masters were apprehensive, not knowing the level of support for the experiment in the School’s migration, nervously watching the incoming carriages. It soon became evident, when pupils poured out from them, that Thring’s reputation as a Headmaster and the quality of the School’s education was trusted and valued. Out of 300 pupils, only three had failed to turn up.

Staff and pupils spent a whole year in Borth, the time taken for Uppingham’s Sanitary Committee to install a new water supply and improve the sewage system. The period in Borth was not without challenges, but it was considered a happy time. The residents of Borth were sorry to say goodbye, they’d provided a safe haven for Uppinghamians, and a strong connection was forged between the two towns which would be commemorated for evermore.

Edward Thring in his introduction to the Borth hymn

And perhaps the School at Uppingham, in years to come, may like to have some hint, however imperfect, of that medley of ruin and safety, fear and fun, which passed from risk and danger, which seemed almost impossible to be faced, to a happy ending.”

The School triumphantly returned to Uppingham in April 1877, to a warm reception from members of the town who’d built arches of flowers with welcome messages all along the High Street (as depicted on our cover).

This defining part of Thring’s tenure has so much relevance for us in 2020. With the country in lockdown the School closed its doors on March 23rd, not to open again for more than five months. Although the School community knew it was coming and was ready for it, nothing prepared us for the silence around the grounds, no cricket played on The Upper, no summer plays in the Theatre or musical concerts in the Memorial Hall, no OU events or Speech Day celebrations at the School; so many highlights of our year had to be cancelled.

However, as in Thring’s time, through the ingenuity and passion of staff, led by an inspirational Headmaster, the education of pupils was uninterrupted, this time by way of ‘Virtual Uppingham’. In no way has the experience been as intense or demanding as for our Victorian forebears, but it has been just as defining for pupils and for the life of the School. Happily, we have emerged stronger, more resilient and more appreciative of all that Uppingham has to offer.

If you’d like to watch this year’s Borth Service, broadcast from the School on 13th May, it’s available via the School’s website, simply search ‘Chapel Services’.