Page 1020 - Reading Mercury

Wokingham bowling circles, formerly lived at Handpost Corner, Wokingham, where
she and her husband ran a general store which they founded in the 1930s. Mr. Child
died in 1950. Mrs Child, who was 94 was a former member of St. Sebastian’s Church
and St. Sebastian’s Women’s Institute.

th
Thur 28 Jan
COIN OPERATED PETROL PUMPS NOT ALLOWED IN WOKINGHAM
No coin-in-the-slot petrol facilities for motorists are to be available in Wokingham,
following a ruling of the Public Health Committee
The committee is responsible for licensing of premises where petrol is sold, and it
was reported that discussions had taken place with an applicant for a petroleum
licence who proposed to introduce a coin-operated petrol filling station in the
borough.
“A completely automated station could give rise to problems of safety for the
general public,” says a report to be submitted to tonight’s Borough Council meeting.
It was decided that licences should be issued only for petrol-filling stations where an
attendant is on duty at all times.

th
Thur 4 Feb
HEADMASTER GRAVES HAD A WONDERFUL WAY WITH HIM
John Graves, brother of celebrated poet Robert, and novelist Charles, is to retire
from the headmastership of Holme Grange Preparatory School, Wokingham, which
he bought twenty years ago. But the school will go on, and Mr. Graves will remain on
the Board of Governors
“For the school is now very much part of the Wokingham scene,” he told me this
week.
“When I took over Holme Grange in 1951, we had 20 boarders and 32 day boys.
Now there are 104 pupils and our absolute limit is 120.
Mr. Graves fell in love with the beautiful country home which houses his school. “I
was very much attracted by the fine proportions of the building, with its lofty ceilings,
beautiful oak panelling and doors, and pleasant surroundings,” he said. The house was
built in 1883 by the celebrated 19th century architect Norman Shaw and the building
has been highly praised by people like Sir Nikolaus Pevsner.
Typical of Norman Shaw’s work is the school’s distinctive chimney piece which
dominates the house and is a distinctive feature. The school was started in 1945 by
Mr. James Gordon-Walker, with a nucleus of boys from Eaton House, a well-known
London day school that had been evacuated to Shurlock Row early in the Second
World War.
Said Mr. Graves: “Our start was inauspicious but from 1953 the school grew
steadily attracting day boys as far as Henley and Virginia Water. The numbers of
boarders also increased. Many of them, especially the sons of R.A.F. and Army
officers, began as day boys and came in to board later. New changing rooms, boot
rooms, Class-rooms and a science laboratory were added, with accommodation for the
headmaster and teaching staff. The playing fields were also enlarged and improved
and grass tennis courts were laid down.
Decision
“In 1966, with my own retirement in sight, and the future of independent education
still in the balance, I had to determine whether Holme Grange had a future and, if so,
how best this could be secured. After much heart-searching, I decided that the school
was fulfilling a useful purpose and could best survive as an educational trust, whose

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