Sennockian 2017-2018 | Page 78

G O OD BYE Lam b a rdes...
...H E L L O A I S H E R
The Lower School boarding house took its last
pupils in September and closed at the end of
the Summer term, bringing over 50 years of its
unique family atmosphere to an end.
Lambardes has closed, but as part of the school’s
plans to develop boarding – which contributes
so much to the strong sense of community,
shared endeavour and internationalism at
Sevenoaks – boarding for the Middle and Upper
School is being expanded, with the introduction
of Aisher House.
In 1950, when Charles Plumptre Johnson bequeathed
the Park Grange Estate to Sevenoaks School, the
house was used for Art, with other classrooms
downstairs, and the upstairs was reserved for junior
boy boarders. In the early Sixties, the demand for extra
boarding space for senior boys led to the decision to
convert Park Grange into a 40-bed house, and for a
new, purpose-built, 20-bed house to be built on the
PG tennis court to rehouse the juniors.
Designed by Lerche-Thomsen and Murray, the
architect of the Head’s house, the new building
opened in 1965 with innovative ideas on furniture
design: instead of rows of iron bedsteads in
dormitories, with a separate homework room, each
boy had his own ‘bedspace’, complete with foldaway
bed, desk, cupboard and shelving. However, apart from
a small model-making room, there was little in the
way of common areas, and as further leisure facilities
were introduced, such as table tennis and television,
this need became more pressing.
The introduction of high-sleeper beds in the late
1980s freed enough space to turn one room over
completely to a common room, kitchen and separate
television room. A major internal conversion was
carried out prior to the introduction of girls in 1994,
but the house remained small, with some 20 pupils,
thus ensuring the family atmosphere which was
a constant feature in our only co-educational
boarding house.
I have been in charge for the last five years and
have seen many changes in that time; the advent of
smartphones and laptops has significantly changed
the way our young boarders use their leisure time
and has facilitated much easier and more frequent
communication with their parents. Lambardes
provided a successful springboard for making a
smooth transition into Middle School boarding and
I will miss it.
Caroline Dyer, Housemistress
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Aisher House, the new boarding house for boys aged
13-18, has been taking shape. It will open in September
2019, providing a home to 60 boys in Years 9 to Upper
Sixth. Designed, like the Science and Technology and
Global Study Centres, The Space and the Lower School
Common Room, by Tim Ronalds Architects, it aims
to complement the elegance of Park Grange, which
it faces. Aisher House will provide excellent shared
spaces, including a large kitchen, recreation areas and
courtyard, and en-suite study bedrooms.
Sevenoaks has taken junior boarders since at least
1841, when the census return shows boys aged
seven to twelve living in Old School, along with older
pupils, and there is no reason to think that Lower
School pupils were not accommodated throughout
the school’s previous centuries of boarding history.
However, until Lambardes opened, they had no
dedicated boarding space of their own. “There is a sense of starting another chapter in
The name reflects the Lambarde family, former owners
of the Park Grange estate, and their service on the
school governing body for three centuries. and are revelling in the position of being the
Sally Robbins, Archivist
the school’s long history as we embark upon
this project to build a vibrant new boarding
house. Both the boys and the staff are very
excited about the new opportunities provided
first ones to move into Aisher House.”
Gareth Willis, Housemaster, Aisher House
The house is named after Jack Aisher, who joined the
school’s Board of Governors in 1964, bringing his
business acumen to the management of the 1963
Appeal which raised funds for a new dining hall and
classrooms. The Aisher family managed the Marley
Tile Company in Riverhead, one of the biggest local
employers, where Jack’s father, Owen, had built up
the family fortunes after he devised a way of making
concrete roof tiles in large quantities.
Jack and the Marley Tile Company gave the school
considerable financial and administrative support:
1967 saw not only the opening of the new dining hall
complex but also the Aisher Hall for music, a personal
gift of Jack’s wife, Eileen, and ten years later, another
Aisher gift, the Marley Sports Centre, which was
opened by the Prince of Wales. Both have since been
replaced, but the new boarding house will continue
to honour Jack and the Aisher family’s transformative
contributions to the school.
Sally Robbins and Lorna Dolan
Design and illustration
© Tim Ronalds Architects