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Wargrave House
Wargrave House
Address
	50-52 Blackwater Road; Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN20 7DH; England
Information
Type	Boys Boarding House
Established	1888
Founder	HF Matheson
Housemaster	Nick Russell MA
Staff	7
Gender	Male
Age	13 to 18
Enrollment	63
Colour(s)	Green, Black, White

Wargrave House is one of the three boys boarding houses in the Eastbourne College in Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK. It is run by Nick Russell (Housemaster), who lives in the house with his family. Apart from the Housemaster's family the house consists of 63 students, the Matron, house tutors, and cleaners. Although the majority of the students in the house are British, there are several students from overseas (countries such as China, Macau, Hong Kong, South Korea, Nigeria, Switzerland, Japan, Russia, Germany, Jamaica, Ireland, Cyprus, ).

Overview

Accommodation

Years 9 and 10 are in dormitories (two to four in each room). Each term the boys change rooms, following a careful consultation process with Mr Russell, so that they can build up many strong relationships with their peers. In Years 11, 12 and 13 the boys are in a range of single rooms all across the house. This encourages friendships across the year groups and gives House prefects responsibility for different areas of the house. Each room is slightly different and this gives the place real character. For Year 9 prep (7.00–8.30pm) is supervised by a Lower Sixth pupil and a teacher on duty. The older boys have their own study areas in their own rooms (prep 7.00–7.55pm, 8.05–9pm). Staff and house prefects make sure that prep is done quietly. There is also a Wargrave Learning Resources Centre where prep is supervised. House: The house is well appointed in terms of facilities. The rooms are spacious and comfortable. On each floor there is a galley where the boys can make snacks of their choice. There is a popular tuck shop (run by pupils and Matron), while fresh fruit, bread, milk and Alpen bars are made available for free. The Common Room transforms into a cinema at the weekends: there is a projector and a Sky connection for big sport matches. In the recently revamped basement there is a TV room, a gym, a games rooms with table-tennis and table football, and an art studio. The Wargrave Learning Resources Centre has six computers with access to the school network, a wireless hub, and a bookcase full of books recommended by the boys themselves.

Events

We have a very lively and popular social calendar. Highlights are an annual house concert, in which everyone performs; a house dinner, with speeches from each year group; house charity events, such as a 24-hour row from Eastbourne to Dakar; concerts that involve performers from the local community; and a Bollywood Evening. There is also an annual parents' conference, a reading group, a film club and regular vertical group discussion forums. Throughout the academic year there are lots of events photos and videos and the events that are comming up.

Other information

Every boy has a tutor who comes into the house to see boys about their eRc grades. Parents are able to view these grades from home via the school website. The overriding atmosphere provides a real sense of community where everyone is encouraged as an individual.

History

Wargrave House (at 52 Blackwater Road)

1888 Sept. HF Matheson purchased 52 Blackwater Road, which had been built as a private house about ten years previously but never occupied. He named it Wargrave because his father-in-law was rector of Wargrave in Berkshire. The purchase was precipitated by Dr Crowden’s appointment as headmaster. He had just moved into School House with most of the 90 boys who had come from Cranbrook with him, so displacing Matheson who had been housemaster there.
1940 17 June: evacuation to Radley
1939 Wargrave and Crosby closed for duration of the war
1945 Return to Eastbourne; Wargrave (no 52) occupied by School House for two terms because the Navy still occupied School House.

Crosby (at 50 Blackwater Road)

1891 50 Blackwater Road opened as Gonville House by the Rev WG Whittam
1892 House sold to CE Gathorne Orr and Rev EG Leverton (in partnership). The house continued as Gonville until 1912.
1914 Gonville moved to Carlisle Road and Crosby opened at 50 Blackwater Road under EC (Charlie) Lester as housemaster, who named it after his old school, Merchant Taylors’, Crosby. Crosby was a small house of about 30 boys. The house also became a hostel for day boys.
1936 Kem Bagnall-Oakeley housemaster. The College purchased the freehold and the ‘Hostel’ system was introduced.

1940 Council planned to combine Wargrave and Crosby in the newly acquired Ascham St. Vincent’s building but, before this could be done, St. Cyprians School burned down and Ascham was lent to them for a year. Crosby later moved into Ascham, palatial accommodation when compared with the old, for less than three terms.

1940 June 17: College moved to Radley.Here, Wargrave lived in Wick Hall, two miles from the school, and had to cycle to and fro. Crosby were lent two classrooms for dormitories, with the museum, the cricket pavilion and a room in the tower as day rooms, but with their housemaster 1½ miles away and not on the telephone. Wargrave and Crosby were disbanded in 1942, and Kem Bagnall-Oakeley and Vin Allom returned to Eastbourne to open an Eastbourne Branch with David Craig in the Gonville building. The Crosby boys joined Blackwater at Radley while the Wargrave boys went into other houses. Back in Eastbourne, with HMS Marlborough occupying the College buildings, WRNS were quartered in Wargrave and Dutch marines in Crosby.

1945 On the return to Eastbourne, Wargrave was initially occupied by School House because the Navy was still using their accommodation, while Crosby was used by Granville (Prep School) boys under Guy Ross.

The New (combined) Wargrave House

1946 Re-opened as Wargrave including Crosby. Kem Bagnall-Oakeley housemaster. Numbers 50 and 52 were joined by a steel and concrete walkway. HKB-O later explained that holes were made in the two houses to take the RSJs for a bridge. The builders installed them upside down and so throughout the severe winter of 1947 washing accommodation was in Crosby and dormitories in Wargrave. Boys had to go out onto the pavements, sometimes in snow, to get from one to the other. Evelyn, his wife, was allowed by James Bowman, the bursar, just 8/9d per week per boy for food and cleaning materials

1990 The new linking structure was built in stages while half the boys moved into 12 Grange Road (now Watt House). It provided a good sized common room on the ground floor and more study bedrooms on the two floors above.

All-Time Housemasters

1905-1907 - Rev Francis Atkinson
1907-1930 - George Peacock (longest serving housemaster for 23 years)
1930-1939 - Vin Allom
1939-1945 - Wargrave House closed for the duration of the WWII, students relocated to Radley.
1945-1951 - Kem Bagnall-Oakeley
1951-1962 - Tom Rodd
1962-1975 - Keith Norman-Smith
1975-1985 - Alan Gardner
1985-1989 - David Charman
1989-1998 - David Stewart
1998-2005 - Charlie Bostock
2005-???? - Nick Russell (Current)