Elm Park 1626-1954: Country House to Preparatory School

By Sean Barden

Elm Park near Killylea, County Armagh, occupies an important place in twentieth-century educational history in Northern Ireland.

In 1920 Seth Smith and Willoughby Weaving acquired the house and grounds known as Elm Park and established a preparatory school for boys aged between seven and fourteen. During the Second World War over 60 boys attended the school, but a decline in numbers after 1945 resulted in its closure in 1954. Many of its former pupils went on to play important roles in the world of business, industry, the armed forces, the civil and diplomatic services.

This beautifully illustrated book by Sean Barden draws on material collated by the ''old boys'' of the school. It is much more than simply a chronicle of the school, however, as the history of Elm Park and the families associated with it are covered from the early seventeenth century through to the beginning of the twentieth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ulster Historical Foundation
• Release date: Jun 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781908448705

Sean Barden

Sean Barden is a gallery assistant in Armagh County Museum who has an avid interest in Armagh's past.

Book preview

Elm Park is the remarkable and highly unlikely story of an educational initiative that one might expect to find in the leafy shires of Middle England but which in fact took root in the heart of Co. Armagh. Moreover, this preparatory school for boys aged from eight upwards was established at a time, 1921, when not only was the island of Ireland being partitioned politically but the violently disputed border that was thus created lay only a few miles away from the school.

It was the vision of two remarkable men, one a former First World War army captain, the other an academic and poet. Even the names of these two headmasters – Hugh Eric Seth-Smith and Willoughby Weaving – betoken their individualistic idealism, characteristics that they in turn came to expect of their equally colourful pupils. One, Seth-Smith, was the disciplinarian and stickler who ensured that the school’s administration ran like clockwork; Weaving was a truly inspirational teacher and masterly storyteller who fostered the creative talents of many of the 288 pupils who attended the school until its closure in 1954.

Curiously, although the primary aim was to develop boys for graduation to public school, mainly in England, the Elm Park approach almost ran counter to the common perception of the ethos of most public schools. Instead of the harsh discipline of beatings and bullying, the emphasis was on the encouragement of individualism and the reward of good behaviour.

The school concentrated on taking boys from upper middle-class backgrounds, many from prominent families associated with the linen industry in Ulster. They included such prominent business, political and ‘society’ names as Brian Faulkner, Lord Dunleath and Angus Gore-Booth. Using the memories and recollections of dozens of former pupils, the living conditions in what had once been an 18th century country residence are recalled. True, there are anecdotes of freezing dormitories and chilblains, but there is also much pleasure evident in the recall of seemingly endless summer evenings when pupils were free to roam the grounds, building tree houses and raising pet jackdaws … a very English education set deep in the Ulster countryside.

Sean Barden is a gallery assistant in Armagh County Museum who has an avid interest in Armagh’s past.

Front cover: photograph of Elm Park

hand coloured by Alan Ellison.

Back cover: Elm Park, Killylea, 1921.

J.B. Wylie, C.T. Allman, W.G. Carson,

J.O. Wylie, H.W. Weaving, Esq., Miss Seymour,

H.E. Seth-Smith, Esq.

Elm Park townland from the 6 inch = 1 mile Ordnance Survey map, 1835 edition.

ELM PARK

1626-1954

COUNTRY HOUSE TO PREPARATORY SCHOOL

SEAN BARDEN

ULSTER HISTORICAL

FOUNDATION

Ulster Historical Foundation is pleased to acknowledge the support of

Armagh City and District Council

The Esme Mitchell Trust

The Miss Elizabeth Ellison Charitable Trust

Ulster Garden Villages Ltd

and

all subscribers and donors

whose assistance has made the publication of this book possible.

First published in 2004

by Ulster Historical Foundation

49 Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 6RY

www.ancestryireland.com

www.booksireland.org.uk

Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means with the prior permission in writing of the publisher or, in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of a licence issued by The Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publisher.

© Sean Barden, 2004

Printed by ColourBooks Ltd

Design by December Publications

ISBN 978-1-903688-42-7

South elevation of Elm Park House, from drawings by J. Rawson Carroll.

Reproduced with the permission of the Armagh County Museum/MAGNI.

CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

List of Subscribers

Introduction: Prep Schools

Elm Park House: The Estate and its history

Elm Park School

The Founders

Integration

The School Day

Comings and Goings

Organised Entertainment

Organised Sport

The Glen

Home Comforts, Food and Health

Food

Sickness

Chilly Weather

Academic Standards

Teaching Staff

Headmasters

Teachers

Woodwork, Art and Music

Non-Teaching Staff

Matrons

Household and Outdoor Staff

After Elm Park

Chronological Summary

Elm Park Today

Appendices

Bibliography

Index

FOREWORD

It had been acknowledged for some time that a record should be written about Elm Park School but this did not appear likely to materialise. The reunions of 1975, 1995 and 2001 took place without anything definite being put in place. Indeed, at the 2001 meeting, I went as far as saying that as no plans were in place at least all the material that could be gathered should be deposited in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

After the last reunion I was made aware of a potential author, Sean Barden, who had recently produced a small, well researched and written booklet relating to the last Countess Charlemont. I arranged to introduce myself and was very surprised to find that there was enthusiasm for the concept despite the fact that he knew nothing about the school. However, since he worked in Armagh County Museum, he had acquired a knowledge of a number of the important local families. He readily undertook the task of writing an account of ‘the Estate House and the families connected with it’ and the school up to the time that it closed in 1954.

I undertook to attend to the arrangements relating to publisher, funding and other matters. My appeal for subscribers resulted in an excellent response from almost one hundred Old Boys. Fintan Mullan, Executive Director, Ulster Historical Foundation, provisionally agreed to publish and obtain financial support from a number of charities. It soon became evident that the resources to carry forward the project were falling into place.

Sean Barden acknowledges elsewhere the extensive help given to him by the ‘Old Boys’ and others to enable him, over months of hard work and research, to produce this publication. The Curator and staff at Armagh County Museum have been very supportive. I gratefully acknowledge the help given by Dr W.H. Crawford and the support of Dr Kathleen Rankin, especially in the earlier years in getting the project underway. If you judge this book by the cover, greatly enhanced by a photographic expert friend of mine, Alan Ellison, I am sure that you will find the content matches it and does justice to the founders of this extraordinary school.

John R. Cowdy

PREFACE

The first thing to point out about this book is that it is divided into two very distinct parts which, although complementing each other can, be treated independently. The foremost intention is to tell the story of Elm Park School which flourished from 1921 to 1954. However the house in which the school was established had a long history going back centuries. It was the home in turn of the Maxwell, Close and Blacker families and the first part of the book traces their connection with the house and Elm Park townland. The vicissitudes of the house and demesne weave their way through a series of marriages and inheritances from the Plantation to the early twentieth century. It is a fascinating if at times complex insight into the personalities concerned and their relationship with each other and the surrounding area.

The second half of the book concentrates on the school itself, looking at the boys and staff who came and went through its doors during its thirty-three years. It is not a strict chronological account by any means; that rigorously linear approach would not do justice to the school or give a proper impression of Elm Park. Instead I have aimed to build from what facts, figures and anecdotes I have gathered, an impression of the character and spirit of the school. Some of the drier factual material is consigned to appendices but can be easily accessed.

Much of the main body of the text is based on the memories of those who attended the school. Over forty old boys responded to a questionnaire, providing invaluable information that I have used extensively. To respect the anonymity of the information they provided, I rarely mention them by name. To them and all the people who have helped I must express my thanks. The following is a list of those who kindly provided me with so much useful and personal insight to their school and school days. Many of them also supplied photographs which bring to life their anecdotes and memories. They are: Peter Acheson, Allen Anderson, Henry Armstrong, John Baxter, Robert Bell, Henry Blood-Smyth, Michael Burges, Garry Campbell, Derek Carr, Jimmy Carr, Robin Charley, Henry Clark, John Cowdy, Ralph Cowdy, Malcolm Crawford, Adrian Forrest, Robin Graham, Tim Herdman, Robin Hill, Peter Hinchcliffe, David Hobday, Patrick Horsbrugh, Bill Jackson, Mervyn Knox-Brown, James Leslie, Finlay McCance, Neill McCance, Angus McConnell, Shean McConnell, Dick McDonald, Donald MacLeay, William McMullan, Robert Magill, David Maxwell, Hugh Montgomery, Bill Moore, Dick Perceval-Maxwell, Tim Sinton, Harry Stevenson, Charlie Stewart, John Stewart, Ian Stoupe, David Strachan, Jackson Taggart, Michael Topping, David Trustram-Eve (Lord Silsoe), Peter Trustram-Eve, Cyril Ward and Desmond Woods.

However it was to John Cowdy whose idea this project was, that I turned most often with all sorts of questions and I must thank him especially for going to so much time and effort to provide the answers. I must also thank him for introducing me to the absorbing world of Elm Park when he asked me to embark on this project almost eighteen months ago. It has been a fascinating journey. John’s own substantial archive of Elm Park documents and photographs was complemented by the wealth of material and personal memories provided by former headmaster Michael Williams. Without this valuable information the book would have been impossible. Michael’s deep and thorough knowledge of prep schools was also of great help to me. The help and guidance provided by Dr Bill Crawford was crucial to this whole project. He not only made many and valuable suggestions that improved the structure of the text but encouraged me whenever he could.

I must also thank the institutions and archives I used and which provided source material. Firstly the Curator of Armagh County Museum,