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to have been of an uncertain quality. The venue for these occasions was the Dining Hall until 1883, when Big School offered an alternative; both halls had excellent acoustics as did the Chapel. The summer concerts were often held outside, the Warden’s garden being a favourite location. In the Winter Term of 1880 a slim, small and reserved new teacher entered the school who would, almost singlehandedly, completely change the School’s artistic horizons during a career lasting fifty-seven years. This was Wilfrid Hammerton Antrobus Cowell, who immediately took it upon himself to widen the theatrical ambitions of what the School had done thus far. Beginning in his first term he would produce, direct and even act in no less than forty-four consecutive (excepting the war years) and memorable Shakespearean productions. These grew in size, scope and complexity, playing before regular audiences numbering over 300 including parents, staff, OSE, university and city dignitaries and even citizens of North Oxford who Cowell felt ‘were ignorant of the Bard’s works’. Quite apart from the significant efforts of handling every aspect of the play’s production, Cowell also found time to sing in the School Choir and at concerts, play the violin in the School Orchestra, as well as performing his normal teaching duties. His first major Shakespearean undertaking was Julius Caesar in the Christmas Term of 1882, in which Cowell took the part of Brutus and Aubyn Trevor-Battye (OSE 1871 – 1873 and teacher) portrayed Mark Anthony. While not played in its entirety (Cowell’s plays seldom were) it was considered a major success and something that would never had been considered in previous years. With Cowell now at the theatrical helm, successive Wardens also worked hard to employ highly competent music masters to ensure the School’s choral and musical endeavours did not suffer. A Dr. Illife arrived in 1879 as organist and musical director who would serve the school for five years, making regular return appearances afterwards with his own orchestra of ‘some of the best musicians in Oxford’. By the turn of the century the School’s natural artistic performers, as well as the exhibitionists, were given ample opportunities to take part in concerts and festivals held two or three times a term, as well as Class and Set plays quite apart from Cowell’s extravaganzas. Most of the concerts were performed by the overworked

Four budding thespians in the 1894 school production of ‘Macbeth’

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F.H. Cliffe conducting the school orchestra in 1899

Choir and later by The Choral Society which included teachers, OSE and outsiders. Visiting soloists included both male and female virtuosos, as well as known and much-loved school figures such as the teacher Frederick Jellicoe, (brother of the Admiral of the Fleet) whose rich baritone voice would grace many a joyful school evening, with demands for encores being normal practice. There were more relaxed concerts when Gilbert and Sullivan and even Musical Hall numbers were included, and every opportunity was taken to involve

audience participation with uplifting, nationally known anthems, sea shanties and even nursery rhymes. The brass band had begun to wither after a few years and in

its place a small orchestra was formed by F.H. Cliffe, a ‘temporary’ music teacher, who was a gifted organist in his own right and seemed to hover in the background even when more permanent appointees were engaged. The late 1880s saw the first Prefects’ Plays, the pre-cursor to

...he would produce, direct and act in no less than forty-four consecutive, memorable Shakespearean productions

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