James-Jacques-Joseph Tissot, London Visitors, 1874.
Obviously long before my time, but the boys in "bluecoat" uniform in this painting are pupils of Christ's Hospital, where I was at school from age 12-18. The school itself has a long and rich history being founded as a charitable foundation in 1552 by Edward VI on Newgate Street in the City of London for the education of poor children. The first name on the roll was a girl, and the school has always educated both boys & girls, although from 1707 until 1985, the girls were in Hertford and from 1902 the boys were in Horsham, Sussex. I was one of the few pupils to have been part of the move from Hertford to Horsham when the boys & girls finally came back together on the same site. The school boasts a number of famous "Old Blues" including Barnes Wallis, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Sir Colin Davis.
oh, and they still wear that uniform today!
new theme tomorrow - "My Home Town"
No comments:
Post a Comment