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St Edward’s:
150 Years
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Chapter 2 / Wardens
Wardenship the New Hall was built, the War Memorial Library
was converted into an art and exhibition space, and Big School
was transformed into the Library. At the same time that the
New Hall was opened boys were allowed to wear coloured
shirts, the idea being that they would take more pride in their
appearance if they wore something which they had chosen.
Attendance of Chapel was still under discussion and the upshot
was that only one service a week was now to be compulsory.
Sport was very successful under Warden Henry Christie, though
inter-House events were now becoming much less important
than school matches.
The 1970s included a period when pupils and students at
schools and universities all over the world felt able to voice
aggressive discontent over many of the traditional aspects of
their communal life, and St Edward’s was no exception. The
mood of protest involved such aspects of School life as the
CCF and food; rules and discipline generally seemed to be
resented at this time. Malcolm Oxley says that Warden Henry
Christie had ‘a skill in riding with the punch and being
genuinely disarming when face to face’.
In 1978 Henry Christie was invited to become Director
of Studies at Dartmouth, when the post suddenly became
available, and decided to accept, going back to his naval
roots. He told the Governors that it was the only post for
which he would have considered leaving St Edward’s.
pupils the choice between a Theme service on Sunday, where
matters of a moral or spiritual nature would be considered,
and a Chapel service.
In December 1968 Bradley rendered another great service
to the School that needs recording. Oxford City Council
produced proposals to create a new road which was intended
to cross the School’s grounds opposite Lower II and link up
with Summertown traffic, thus slicing the School’s fields in
two. Bradley and his chosen QC, Professor Colin Buchanan,
put up a fantastic fight against this road. The Warden’s
written evidence stated ‘We are being asked to surrender
vital educational amenities for the solution of a problem
which may conceivably have changed in nature by the
end of this present century. By contrast, the requirements
of education will continue quite unabated.’ The road
was scheduled for construction in 1991, but the Warden’s
determined approach put paid to the plan and neither spine
road nor spur road was built.
Sadly, given his extraordinary qualities, Warden Bradley
decided he must resign in 1970 owing to personal problems,
that is the breakdown of his marriage. After leaving St
Edward’s, he continued his successful career as a Headmaster
in Canada and the US.
HENRY CHRISTIE (1924–92),
WARDEN 1971–8
Malcolm Oxley writes of Henry Christie ‘Of the five Wardens
I served, though all were conscious of their duties, none was
so liked and even loved by the School’s servants and domestic
staff.’ Henry Christie had been eight years a ‘beak’ at Eton and
had spent six years as Under Master and Master of the Queen’s
Scholars at Westminster. He came to St Edward’s from Brighton
College, where he had been Headmaster since 1963. He had
been a King’s Scholar at Westminster and an Exhibitioner at
Trinity College, Cambridge, his subject Maths. He was from
a naval family and had served in the RNVR in the war, being
Mentioned in Despatches in 1945. His wife Naida taught English
as well as working hard at her role helping her husband – both
husband and wife clearly had abundant social charm.
In 1972 Prince Philip flew in by helicopter to visit the
School and see his Duke of Edinburgh Award in action. In the
same year Henry Christie introduced two Leave Weekends per
term in addition to the half-term break – the Leave Weekends
acting as safety valves for teenagers used to more freedom at
home. Pupil numbers at the School were around 500 and once
again new buildings were needed; during Henry Christie’s
Left: School Shop, 1969.
Right: Warden Henry Christie, 1975.
Bottom: Prince Philip’s visit to see his award
scheme in action, 1972, with Cameron Cochrane,
an assistant master at the School, 1957–66.
Top left: Construction of the New Hall.
Left: Interior of the finished New Hall, 1974.
Above: Common Room, 1978. Back row (left to right): G.R. Rigault, P.G. Badger, A.J.M. Smith, M.J. Hiner,
M.J. Rosewell, S.G. Spanier, J.A. Taylor, J.A.S. Donald, R.W. Young, K.N. Jones, L.P. Morton, G.E. Fuzzard.
Second row standing (left to right): D.P. Pritchard, P.G. Cave, P.E. Futcher, R.D. Aldred, J.D. Leach,
M.P.M. Watson, Revd D.J. Conner, R.M. Clements, N.R. Quartley, I.D. Wright, J.J. Mcpartlin, J.W. Gidney.
First row standing (left to right): E. Weeks, A.D. Tree, C.W. Lane, J.R. Scarr, W.M. Boswell, P. Mallalieu,
F.W.J. Pargeter, D.J.M. Howorth, J.A.N. Snell, P.S.A. Taylor, L.A. Lyne, N. Christie.
Seated (left to right): M.S. Oxley, J.L. Todd, P.N. Corlett, F.H. Pritchard, D. Williams, P.R. Church, Warden
Christie, J.E. Armstrong, M. Evans, N. Roberts, N.T. Roberts, R.H.M. Arkell, M.D. Peregrine.