22-23 / 168
St Edward’s:
150 Years
24
25
Chapter 2 / Wardens
had admired him and supported him. He was involved in
various important decisions and was often a visitor to the
School, laying the foundation stone of the War Memorial
Buildings (later to become Tilly’s House) in 1923; he was
present at its opening, though in a bath chair, in 1925.
He moved finally to Davenant Road, further up the
Woodstock Road from the School, where he died on 12 March
1928. The great bell tolled the number of his 81 years and on 15
March the coffin was brought down to the School on the farm
cart, and carried from the Lodge to the Chapel. After a Eucharist
service, it was lowered into the ground on the south side of
the Chapel. As far as his dream for the School was concerned,
shown in the 1881 aerial drawing of the Quad
(seen on the front
endpaper)
, a remarkable amount of it had been achieved during
his own time, and the School will forever be indebted to him.
THOMAS FREDERICK HOBSON (1860–1925),
WARDEN 1893–6
It was obviously not an easy task to follow Simeon and his
incredible time as Warden, but the Revd Thomas Frederick
Hobson was recommended by Simeon himself as his successor.
Hobson had been educated at Radley College and Christ
Church, had been Assistant Master at Radley and Wellington
College, and was ordained in 1885. His brief time was notable
as he introduced the Tutorial Set System in the summer of
1893, whereby each boy would come under the care of a Tutor
who would stay with him throughout his time at the School,
an idea Hobson had borrowed from Eton College. The new
Warden had been a considerable sportsman and had won an
Athletics Blue while at Oxford, so it is not surprising that his
other priority was to work hard on improving the School’s
games in general and athletics in particular. Academically the
School flourished, resulting in rising numbers of successful
university applications and the first notable sports teams.
treated like ‘little monks’ due to the close association with
the Oxford Movement.
Simeon appointed Revd Herbert Andrew Dalton as his
Headmaster, though the two had a stormy relationship and
Dalton’s stay in the post was only six years. More heart-
warmingly, it was in 1880 that Wilfrid Cowell was appointed
as a master. He became first Senior Master in 1886 and later
Second Master in 1926. He worked for the School for some 57
years, covering lessons in most subjects during his ‘retirement’,
living in the Lodge for most of his time, and eventually he was
buried by the Chapel. The wrought-iron gates in the south-
west corner were built as his memorial and opened by the
Princess Royal in 1939. In his ‘Record’ he failed to mention that
he bequeathed his pension fund and £1,000 to the endowment
appeal. He was the School’s self-appointed Archivist and a
hugely important figure in the School’s dramatic productions.
We will return to him in Warden Kendall’s reign. Altogether
he was an extraordinarily loyal and reliable member of staff in
these early days and beyond.
Simeon had married Beatrice Emma Wilkinson in 1883 and
they had five children, of whom the two boys attended the
School. In 1893 Simeon, having resigned as Warden, made his
life in the Church once again, becoming temporary vicar at
Kilkhampton in Cornwall, before
going to Bigbury in Devon as
vicar. Lastly, in 1903, he moved to
the parish of Yattendon in Berkshire,
where he and his family stayed for 21 years.
Despite having left the School he continued to keep a stern
eye on the institution he had created with so much difficulty
and determination, and where the Common Room and pupils
Population, 1875. Note the ‘Beehive’ to the right, where the Sub-Warden’s
room now stands.
Library Custodians, 1891.
Right: Simeon and his
family,
c.
1905. Simeon
married Beatrice in 1883.
He gave the window
on the south side of the
Chapelapse‘Marriage’,to
commemoratetheevent.
He went on to have five
children,fourshownhere,
and his two sons were
educated at St Edward’s.
Below: Simeon died in
1928. His funeral was a
solemn event and the
end of an era. He was
buriedbesidetheChapel
where his wife was later
buried too.
Below: Common Room, 1894. Back row (left to right):
A.K. Lewis, G. Sayer, E.H. Montauban, D.G. Wynne-Wilson,
RevdW.T. Kerry. Seated (left to right): W.H.A. Cowell,
Warden Hobson, J.M. Sing (later to become Warden).
Above: Stained glass
from the Warden’s
House.
Left: Wilfrid Cowell,
1880 – the master
who would serve the
School for 57 years.