Dances, Dates and Writing Home

As a new member of the Archive team here at Corsham Court, I was excited to see some more of the collection this week. I really enjoyed reading the letters of Vivianne Ollerearnshaw, who studied on the teacher training course at Newton Park from 1951- 53. Her interview and the letters which she kindly gave to the Archive cover her two years at the college, and provide a wonderful glimpse into life as a student at that time.

During her first year Vivianne lived on the top floor of No. 19 of the Royal Crescent, along with 8 other girls. They shared one big bathroom between them and ate in the large basement; 'our first meal was rabbit stew, which was gorgeous, and custard with banana in it which I shall never forget because we were rationed, we never had enough to eat at home.' In her second year Vivianne lived at Newton Park, in Main House. The had 'a huge breakfast, a huge dinner and a huge supper and tea' everyday in the East Wing, which today is a small cafe. I love the little openings into the details of her life as a student; among other things Vivianne writes to her parents about playing hockey and netball matches between Newton Park and The Elms (P.S. We've won the netball match!'), about going to see Wuthering Heights 'with Lawrence Olivier in' and also about holidays; 'For the Coronation we get not far off a week!'.

'Wuthering Heights will be at Bath next weekend, with Lawrence Olivier in. I've seen it once, but would love to see it again if time.' 

Many of her letters are signed with 'xxxx' and use shortenings such as 'if poss'. This is surprisingly similar to texts and informal emails today- my friends and I use them! In one of the letters, Vivianne is asking her parents for references. The language used seems quite abrupt, and as with the similarities to texts mentioned above, this reminded me that letters were the main form of communication (apart from the telephone', so in a way they did the job of what texts and emails do now. On the other hand, one of the main differences is that many were written over several days. The envelopes have very readable postmarks, unlike today, and the range of stamps is interesting.

Her handwriting is very twirly compared to how my generation were taught to write!

Another thing that surprised me is that the term 'going out' was also in use then. In Vivianne's time it often meant going to dances; she writes about the Weston in Bath ('a little dance place') and about a Valentine's Ball at Bristol University, whereas now 'dances' is clubbing! A little later she wrote about refusing to see 'a partner', meaning a male dancing partner, because she 'musn't go out this term'. I think this shows how some phrases have become outdated, while some are still very much in use amongst people my age. And now that 50s style is back in fashion, it makes me think that maybe some things about youth culture never really change!

By Alice Meigh, 2nd year student at Bath Spa University

Vintage Fashion

Well the first box of treasures from the library has arrived, and the task of unpacking and inspecting the contents has revealed some great stuff.

In archive terms, the first task is to carry out an inspection of any new materials we receive. This is done away from the rest of our resources, as we have to protect everything we have from any contamination from pollutants, creepy crawlies and so on. Fortunately, everything we had in this delivery was clean and dry. 

A-line skirts and curled hair - Students outside Main House, circa 1950

There is a terrific scrapbook of newspaper cuttings covering the late 1940s to the later 1960s, all about  Newton Park College, and a collection of cuttings from the same period featuring Bath College of Domestic Science. We have also been given two boxes of class photographs, some dating from the 1930s. 

Interspersed with all this are small bundles of photographs from the early days of Newton Park, which show students involved in the day to day tasks of a training college. The archive team have loved these, and particularly enjoyed seeing images of the early 1950s clothes. 

Fashions come and go, but young people's clothing choices usually reflect the newest and most contemporary trends. We've also noticed the fact that Newton Park College had an approved 'uniform', featuring a blazer, scarf and approved gym kit....but more about that another time! 

Elegance on the front lawn. Students at Newton Park, circa 1950

New Year Treats!

Well here we are, back in the office after the Christmas break, and we're busy preparing a space for a most exciting arrival.

Over at the Newton Park library, the head of Library Services, Alison Baud, has authorized the transfer of some of the archive materials stored there. These will be arriving over the next few weeks.
 We have seen some of this material, during a visit to the library store. The main section of this is in the basement of Main House, where items of 'lesser importance' are housed. Books, images or documents which are no longer in demand in the library system come here, as a staging post prior to removal or reassessment. A visit to the store really does feel like a journey to the depths as it's approached along corridors and through several doors (although it may have been anticipation, making the whole journey that exciting! There's nothing like an old store of books and ephemera to make an archivist's senses tingle...)

We have been promised a trunk full of archive materials, which we will empty, then return for another batch, so the next few weeks will give us plenty to do and lots to discover. I know that this collection features photographs from the early days of Newton Park College, circa 1946/7, a series of publicity images of the Domestic Science College, circa 1952, and some First World War food and propaganda posters and booklets. This much we've already seen. 

Keep reading this blog to find out what else we discover. Whatever it is, you can be sure that there will be interesting stories to tell...

Reviewing some of the items from the Library store