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Page 3: 22nd October 2007

The Soderberg/Horley Schools.... Help!!!

Back in July 2006, our Chat Column discussed a couple of private schools that served Whitstable during the first half of the twentieth century. Our articles contained a couple of family photographs sent to us by Ivan Knowles and it was thought that they showed puipls of the Soderberg School and, possibly, the Horley School. Unfortunately, we weren't able to resolve some issues and the information never became a permanent feature of our schools' history section.

Now, we are about to put things right because Brian Eames has kindly supplied a further photo and a whole collection of extra information for us to work with. So let's get started..... with the Soderberg School. (Note: Reaction and comment generated in response to this article are given at the foot of the page).

What We Already Know About The Soderberg....

Many of our senior readers will know that The Soderberg School was run by a lady called Miss Soderberg and, during the late 1930s, it was based at a house at No. 9 Nelson Road. This property was located on the right (as viewed from Oxford Street) and it was close to the junction with Shaftesbury Road. It had a very prominent poplar tree in a small front garden.

Adults knew Miss Soderberg as 'Effie' Soderberg... but children used the less polite term of 'Ma Soderberg'! The photo extract (right) was taken circa 1927/28.

Early History of Effie... 

Brian's research has uncovered some fascinating material about Miss Soderberg's life in Whitstable. Effie was born circa 1875 and the 1901 census records her as living with her parents at 36 Canterbury Road. Her father appears to have worked in the maritime industry as he is recorded as being 'at sea' when the census was conducted. At that time, Effie's age was given as '26' and it seems that she had already embarked on a career in teaching as her occupation was recorded as ''assistant mistress, infant school'.

We cannot be sure where she worked at the beginning of the twentieth century but we can have a stab at a possible answer. Cliff Court's book "Around Whitstable in Old Photographs" (page 123) states that, prior to starting her own establishment, Effie worked at the local Board School. If you have read our history of the Whitstable Junior School, you will know that the Board Schools were so called because they were administered by a local School Board and they were the forerunners of the modern State Education system. At the outset, there were three Board Schools in the town - Boys, Girls and Infants. All shared the Oxford Street site of the modern day junior school. 

Brian has also discovered that, by 1923, Effie had become 'self-sufficent' and her private addresses were given in the Blue Book Index as follows.... 

The name Seasalter Place has been lost in the mists of time... but I am sure that some of our readers will be able to pinpoint its location and current name!

Soderberg Origins, Name and Location

The first mention that Brian has found of Effie's private school crops up in the Blue Book Index of 1928. It is also referred to in Kelly's index during the 1930s. The addresses are given as follows.....

A number of interesting points arise from these entries. The obvious one is that, whilst many of us talk about the Soderberg School, the official title was "The Argyle School". However, don't go dashing off to locate the buildings as there is a problem.

Whilst the No 9 entry is correct, Brian has discovered that the 1928-33 address simply doesn't tie in with the current day street numbering. Somewhere down the line, Nelson Road was renumbered - with No 106 becoming No 12. This property is almost opposite No 9, so, we suspect that the school must have been relocated a short distance across the road some time around 1934.

This might explain why some texts give 1934 as the start date of the school whereas those index entries suggest that Effie commenced her private enterprise around 1928. In fact, we have reason to believe that it commenced even earlier than that. Take a look at this message from Ian Johnson received back in 2006.... 

As Ian remarked at the time, this might explain the origins of the name "Argyle School".

An Early School Photograph

One of Brian Eames' key interests in the subject concerns the following photograph.....

School Photo 1 

Brian's father is the little chap on the far right of the front row. Brian believes this photo was taken circa 1927/28. Miss Soderberg is the lady on the extreme right and, in 1928, she would have been in her early 50s. The photo is thought to have been taken at the first of Effie's Nelson Road locations - the old No. 106 (No 12 in modern numbering). This would tie in with Brian's father's description that the school was on the left looking from Oxford Street. However, that building in the background looks extensive and the windows are set quite high in the walls. That doesn't necessarily fit with a terraced property in Nelson Road.

Is it possible that the location is actually the school's very first site - at the Methodist Hall in Argyle Road? That would place the shot slightly earlier than 1928 and bring Effie's age down to 49/50 at the time. As we have members of the Methodist congregation amongst our readership and those windows may still be visible in the Methodist Hall of today, we may yet get an answer!

We don't know the name of the other teacher for certain but Brian believes that it might be "Sutton".

It is certainly the earliest photo I have seen of the school. If anyone can supply names or other details that might help us with the date and location, we would love to hear from you!

Soderberg: The Next Stop.... Cliff's Book

If you have a copy of Cliff Court's "Around Whitstable" book, take a look at page 123. This contains another school photo taken "in the 1930s". The date is reasonably consistent with Brian's picture as it features a slightly older Effie Sodeberg and a maturing Miss/Mrs. Sutton.

Now to Ivan's Photos... 

So far, we have been sailing in calm conditions towards a permanent Soderberg School article... but hold onto your life jackets because we are about to hit choppy waters and we need your help!

When we discussed the school back in 2006, we included the shot below - kindly forwarded by Ivan Knowles. 

School Photo 2

However.... is it the Soderberg School? 

After careful study, I am convinced that it IS. Standing on the far right of the back row is an elderly lady teacher. At first glance, it looks like Miss Soderberg and, now, after overlaying an extract from Brian's photo, I am reasonably convinced that the faces match. 

Effie Soderberg: Photo 1	Miss Soderberg?: Photo 2

Everything seems to point to it being some time later than both Brian's photo and that featured in Cliff Court's book. The reasons are as follows....

It all points to a late 1930s or even 1940s scene and one that would appear to have been taken at the final location of the school.... ie No. 9 Nelson Road. 

However, there is a curious problem. The young lady standing fifth from the right in the middle row is Ivan's aunt. She was born in 1920 and would probably be no older than 10 at the time. That would place the photo in the late 1920s or early 1930s.... and create some inconsistency  with the other photographs. 

So, can anyone identify any of the faces and help us toward a specific date?

Soderberg: The Final Years

As yet, we know very little about Miss Soderberg's final years. 

As Brian has confirmed, the school is recorded at 9 Nelson Road in Kelly's Index until 1939. By then, Effie would have been 66 years old and due some well earned retirement. The onset of war effectively put an end to the flow of official records .... but did it also curtail Effie's teaching career and result in the closure of the establishment itself? 

As yet, we don't know... but, from Brian's information, we do know that Effie passed away on Nov. 5th 1950 at the age of 76. Her life is celebrated on a head stone in Whitstable cemetery.... and in the memories of many of of our senior readers.

I always feel that it is important to make a difference. When people discuss your life and work 50 years on, you have done just that.   

The Horley School?...

Back in 2006, Ivan also kindly forwarded the photo below...

School Photo 3

It is believed to have been taken about the same time as his Soderberg photo but at yet another school location - a single 'classroom' located in the back yard of a shop at No. 81 High Street. (Take care there may have been some subsequent renumbering in later years!). There was (and still is) an alleyway running along the rear of the property from nearby Gladstone Road. On the other side of the alley is the current day Endowed School.

In our 2006 Chat Column, we discussed the possibility that Photo 3 may well have been an establishment called the Horley School and that it may have been a direct descendant of the Soderberg School after Effie Soderberg retired. However, I think we can now dismiss that type of connection between the schools.

The young lady standing in front of the teacher is Ivan's aunt and she looks slightly younger than in Ivan's Photo 2. Thus, this school and the Soderberg establishment appear to have existed at much the same time. 

So, what DO we know about the Horley School and that High Street location. Well, Brian Eames has very kindly carried out some research for us.....

It seems that Mrs. Dorothy Horley ran a girls Prep. School at "Clare House, 81A High Street" - as confirmed by directory entries from 1922 until 1936. However, there is no mention of it thereafter. Thus it DID indeed overlap with the Soderberg School and may well have met its demise before Effie Soderberg's establishment closed. 

The number 81A is consistent with a building at the rear of No 81 High Street and it seems that the overall premises may have had an even longer history in education. Brian has discovered an index entry that shows 81 High Street as the Prep. School of a Miss G Phipps in 1911/1912.

So, is Ivan's Photo 3 a picture of the Horley Prep school? Well, some of the evidence is consistent with this idea. For example, it seems logical that Ivan's aunt would have progressed from a Prep School (photo 3) to the Soderberg School (photo 2) after a year or two.

However, there are some things that don't add up. For a start, we have found no evidence to suggest that the Horley School was anything other than a girls school.... and yet the photo contains 4 boys. Furthermore, a prep school would have been restricted to a particular age group. The girls on the far right and left of photo 3 are much older ... but too young to be teachers or assistants.

At this point, we can throw in another theory and it suggests that Photo 3 is NOT the Horley School at all. The idea stems from a message received from Ian Johnson back in 2006......

A dance class could resolve some of our problems! It would certainly explain the mixed age range. It could explain why the young lady on the left is cutting an elegant pose in white shoes and why the tall girl on the right is wearing a skirt that is exceptionally short for the era. It could also explain why none of the boys are wearing socks. (Certainly, by the 1950s, no-one would have encouraged me to go anywhere sockless without a specific reason!).

Mind you, I still have my doubts. Would a mid-twentieth century dance class have attracted even one boy..... let alone four?!!!

Fate of the Horley Classroom

What happened to the classroom at 81A High Street. Well, we are not sure. However, we have received stories that girls from the nearby Endowed School used an alleyway to access an extra classroom off-site in the early 1950s. Could that have been the old Horley room? Was the alleyway the one leading from Gladstone Road. Did the Endowed hire the 'Clare House' classroom to overcome overcrowding on its main site. 

We certainly know that there were space problems at most schools shortly after the war when the schooling leaving age was raised to 15 and the country awaited the arrival of new Secondary Schools. It led to those temporary white pre-fabs being added to many schools throughout the country. They were known as HORSA units (ie"Hutted Operations for Raising School Age") and we know that there were delays in their arrival. The Endowed eventually inherited HORSA classrooms at the Oxford Street Boys school site. However, was 81A used as a stop gap when the HORSAs failed to arrive on time.  

Over to you! 

Reaction to this Article....

We have started to receive comments on the Soderberg/Horley article and it looks as if Brian Eames' research may  solve a puzzle for Ian Johnson....

Thanks, Ian. It certainly seems likely that your dad attended school at 81A High Street....  provided that Miss Phipps didn't relocate between 1912 and 1919 - particularly with World War I cropping up in between. Mind you, I don't think that the Great War had quite the same massive impact on civilians as WWII.

I love that post card! Schools were supposed to be tough places in the early part of the twentieth century and, yet, here we have a school sending a message to a pupil. I wonder if it was a reminder that a new school year was about to start.

It is also interesting to note the makers name - "Boots Cash Chemists"! I presume Boots had an outlet in Whitstable at that time.

Phil Neame has written from Vancouver to provide more detail about the school and its life span. However, Phil's message also raises more questions about Photo 3....

Thanks, Phil. You will be interested in the "Article Update" below which ties in with your memories of the school continuing into the latter part of the 1940s and explains the Scandinavian origins of Effie's surname..

Now, can I ask our readers to take a close look at the elderly teacher in Photo 2. Is it Effie Soderberg on a 'bad hair day'... or someone else?

Bill Dancer has written to confirm thoughts on the school at 81a High Street...

Thanks, Bill. Things are certainly beginning to come together now.

Ian Johnson has now come up with confirmation of the name of Miss Soderberg's assistant teacher.....

Thanks, Ian. We will go a long way to dating the photos if your Aunt can name some of the pupils or identify Miss Soderberg in Photo 2. Perhaps, you would pass on our thanks.

Article Upate.....

Brian Eames has located yet more information on the schools.

The Canterbury Directory records Miss Phipps at 81a High Street in 1915/1916. It therefore seems increasingly likely that Ian's post card came from that address in 1919.

Brian has located a newspaper advert for the Soderberg School. This is dated 12 May 1928 and confirms the location as 106 Nelson Road (at that time) - ie the first of the Nelson Road addresses. Effie is described as the "Principal".

An obituary provides more background to her life in Whitstable. She moved to Whitstable in 1882 with her grandparents and parents. She was then approx 7 years old and her grandfather (George Measday) had just retired after serving 25 years as a missionary with the London City Mission. Her father was Swedish by birth and served much of his life in the merchant navy - particularly in the Pacific. He retired in 1917 and joined the family in Whitstable but, sadly, died a year later.  

As we know, Effie became a teacher early in her life. However, she was not the only family member to pursue a career in education. Her brother, Percy, was also a well known teacher in Whitstable.

Earlier, we mentioned that Effie may have worked at the Board Schools (Infants Section). If so, she may have been based at the Oxford Street site (now the Whitstable Junior School) which opened in 1877 or the Albert Street Infants School which was erected in 1879. However, the obituary makes no mention of this. In fact, it records that she worked for many years at the rival St Alphege Church of England Infants School before transferring to the kindergarten unit of Westmeads Infants.

Westmeads was a state school that replaced the Albert Street Infants in 1904. By then, the Education Act of 1902 had abolished local school boards and replaced them with county education authorities. Thus, strictly speaking, it was a KEC establishment and NOT a 'Board School'. However, it seems likely that the term 'Board School' was used by local people to describe state schools for many years after the Board disappeared.

On our Whitstable Junior School history page, we mention the chronic shortage of teachers in the late nineteenth century and a scheme (called the 'Pupil Teacher' scheme) that enabled school pupils to progress into a teaching career. It would be interesting to know if Effie was a product of that initiative.

We may have to revise our ideas a little regarding the latter part of Effie's career. Her obituary suggests that she continued teaching into her 75th year! This ties in with the memories of Phil Neame (see above) that the Argyle School continued after World War II. It seems that it may have lasted through to 1949 as Effie eventually passed away after just a short illness.   

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