Tag Archives: Bedales Alumni

Bedales Eckersley Lecture – from 1966 to present

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By Dr Harry Pearson (staff, 1977-2006), former Head of Science and Houseparent

In my own personal history 1966 is a key year that I always remember and use as a reference point: it is the year, age 18, I left school in the July and started university at UCL in September. Also, all football aficionados remember 1966, as the only year England won the World Cup. I can remember the day as if it were yesterday. (One hundred years before, 1866, was one of those annus mirabilis years in science where so much was happening that would change the world, we live in. Darwin was advancing his work on natural selection while unbeknown to him, an Austrian monk, Gregor Mendel, was carefully collecting data on peas which would lay the foundation of what we now call genetics.) Eleven years on, I left the university world of chemistry and arrived at Bedales in September 1977.  It was then I discovered that 1966 is also an important year in the history of Bedales, as it was the year of the inaugural Eckersley Lecture.

Thomas and Peter Eckersley were students at Bedales shortly after the school’s foundation. Thomas, 1886-1959, was a student here between 1897 and 1904. Peter, 1892-1963, was at Bedales between 1902 and 1911. They enjoyed science tremendously and the teaching they received engendered a sense of discovery and investigation in both of them. While here they became interested in the emerging field of radio transmission and carried out some amazing experiments. The photographs below show them at ‘Wavy Lodge’ (a hut near the present-day Music School) where they carried out some of their experiments on radio transmission. Their great friend in this enterprise was Bob Best whom I was pleased to meet at the lectures of the late seventies, still as enthusiastic as ever.

Both Eckersley brothers went on to have distinguished careers: Peter became Chief Engineer when the BBC started in 1922. Thomas, who went to University College London, where he studied engineering, then went on to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied mathematics. He then joined the Marconi Company where he stayed most of his career where he carried out important research in the field of Radio waves becoming FRS. His work was concerned with how atmospheric effects affected the transmission of the waves. He went on to win the prestigious Faraday medal in 1951. To give an idea of the importance of this award it can be noted that the winners in 1950 and 1952 were Sir James Chadwick, discoverer of the neutron and Nobel Laureate, and Berkeley physicist Ernest. O Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron and Nobel Laureate, respectively, two of the better-known Nobel Prize winners. The contribution by the brothers in the field of Radio transmission is extraordinarily significant, and something that Bedales can feel very proud about.

The lectures were set up by a group of Old Bedalians as a memorial and tribute to the outstanding contribution to scientific progress and thinking made by the Eckersley brothers. They are meant to have a broad appeal and stimulate interest in, and appreciation of science, rather than just record scientific research. It was always hoped that non-scientists would find them of interest. It seems appropriate that several directors of the Royal Institution have delivered the lecture as one of the aims of the ‘discourses’ at the institution seem very similar to the aims of the Eckersley Lecture.

The first lecture was given in 1966 by Professor Sir Lawrence Bragg who won a Nobel Prize for his pioneering work using X Rays in the elucidation of chemical structure. Indeed Bragg’s father also demonstrated the use of X rays in medicine. It is hard to overstate the significance of this first lecture.

In 1966 it would have been difficult to find a more senior, or more famous, scientist in this country, or indeed the world, than Lawrence Bragg, the first person to deliver the Eckersley lecture. Not only was Bragg a Nobel laureate but at the time he was the only person to have won the prize with his father, William Henry Bragg. What is more, since their discovery, the use of X rays, in structure determination, is one of those things that has changed all our lives. He won the prize as far back as 1923 as a member of the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, a location that was virtually rewriting science for the twentieth century. Like his father, the younger Bragg went on to head the Cavendish, and become director of the Royal Institution.

To further emphasise Bragg’s pre-eminence, it is important to realize what point his use of X rays in structure determination had reached at that time. Several people in the Cavendish were working on the elucidation of enzyme structure, most notably Max Perutz and John Kendrew. Both went on to win the Nobel Prize for their work on the structure and function of Haemoglobin, the vital oxygen carrying protein in blood. At this time their work represented the cutting edge of science. Another duo in Bragg’s sphere were the pair Watson and Crick who were working on the structure of DNA. Their eventual publication of the structure, which marked the advent of Molecular Biology, is seen as the greatest discovery of the century. It was Bragg who proposed them for the Nobel Prize.

Watson and Crick were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work in Bragg’s laboratory in 1962. Their work would throw dramatic new light on the fields set up by Darwin and Mendel in 1866. The work in Bragg’s team was reaching towards the very heart of life itself.

When Bragg came to give the first lecture in 1966 it would be hard to think of a more eminent person in British intellectual life.

The subsequent list of speakers is very much a who’s who of British science with names like Colin Blakemore, Herman Bondi, Ken Pounds, OB Sebastian Pease, Nobel Laureate Max Perutz, Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell and Sir Roger Penrose among others.

I must say something here about Bas Pease. Bas gave the Eckersley lecture in 1982 entitled Nuclear Energy and the Future. Bas had a glittering scientific career becoming head of the project doing research on nuclear fusion. He may be the leading scientist that Bedales has ever produced. Bas was a powerful supporter of the Bedales Science Department and we were all pleased when he came to the opening of the new science buildings in 2001.

The 2006 lecture was given by one of my previous mentors Professor Brian Johnson FRS, formerly Head of Inorganic Chemistry at Cambridge and Master of Fitzwilliam, and also a governor of Bedales. When I wrote to him thanking him for coming, he said that for him it was an honour to join such a distinguished list of speakers. I think the founders of the lecture can be proud of what they have set up. The Eckersley brothers would also be proud of what goes on in their name and that science thrives at Bedales. 1966 was indeed an important year in the life of the school.

Celebrating 25 years of the Olivier Theatre

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By Esther Biddle, Old Bedalian

I can remember such anticipation at the opening of the Olivier Theatre at Bedales, not least because we had all seen it rise up slowly over the months and years, but also because we could see how the building would change the scope of dramatic performances and drama lessons in school life.

I joined Bedales in Block 3 in 1994 and performing – both as a musician and an actress – was part of the everyday fabric of my time at the school. I was in Block 5 when I was cast in a production of My Mother Said I Never Should, which was directed by two sixth formers and was the first public performance in the newly finished Theatre.

Prior to this, all Drama lessons had been in the Drama Studio, Lupton Hall and the Quad – long before the big glass doors were installed – so the change for all of us was absolutely ginormous! I can remember the thrill of starting rehearsals inside the Theatre and going onto the stage. The auditorium felt so big, and we certainly felt very special and important. Suddenly the work we were producing felt like proper theatre. The beautiful carpentry and framework makes it such a gorgeous building to be in as an audience member, and as young performers we were so excited to have our own proper backstage area with mirrors, lights and a shower!

Everything about that first production was suddenly on such a large scale. Not only the lights and backstage, but the addition of Joanne Greenwood and her amazing sets and costumes took this production – and all those afterwards – to a professional level. In fact, I don’t think anyone can talk about the Theatre without mentioning Joanne. She revolutionised the standard of all the productions at Bedales, which matched the standard of the amazing Theatre itself. I remember high painted pink banners at the back of the stage going all the way up to the top of the doors and being so impressed with the scope of the stage and the theatre space. It gave us as performers a huge playground, and so many entrances and exits through all of the blue doors.

I don’t recall any of us being particularly nervous – most of us were so used to performing at school. Looking back now though, we probably should have been, as it was so well attended because it was the first show in the Theatre and many parents, especially those who had bought seats, wanted to see the new addition to the school.

The play itself looked at four different generations of strong women across the 20th century. As an adult and a mother now, I understand the themes and beats of this play so much more. I hope that we managed to capture some of them in our production. 

It was a privilege to appear in this first show at the Olivier Theatre, where I performed many more times throughout my remaining years at Bedales and beyond. Having your Drama lessons in a 350-seat Theatre is an amazing educational environment, and hands down shaped my career as an actress and musician. I feel so lucky to have been at Bedales when it opened.

New and improved Petersfield Museum

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This article was originally published in the Old Bedalian Newsletter 2021.

By Alice Shaw (née Sedgwick, 1992 – 1999)

Alice and Lead Trustee Bill Gosney (far left) and the construction directors, July 2019

After spending most of my time in the Bedales Art Block, I left in 1999 to study Art History at the University of York followed by a Masters in Museum Studies at the University of Essex. I always knew I wanted to be around art but was realistic about my own abilities not to rely on making a living from it!

After graduating I worked at the British Museum and V&A in temporary exhibitions, then at the Science Museum on permanent galleries and capital projects. In 2015, my family and I left London and moved back to Steep in search of space and fresh air for our two young boys. At this point it felt inevitable that my career in museums would be put on hold while our family grew up.

Soon after, however, I heard that the local Petersfield Museum, which opened the year I left Bedales, had recently purchased the adjoining Police Station. It also received a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to renovate its existing building in the Old Courthouse, and design and build new galleries, collections facilities, exhibition and learning spaces and a courtyard café. I felt strongly that this project and I shared a destiny, and was delighted to be appointed as Project Manager in December 2016.

My job was to engage and lead a design team to deliver the museum’s vision of being at the heart of local life and also offer a compelling attraction for visitors from further afield. The historic Victorian buildings combined with striking architecture will create welcoming social areas and stimulating learning spaces. It will be a family friendly space that will inspire visitors of all ages to investigate the region’s many historic and cultural assets and to explore the surrounding countryside.

During the design development process, it was proposed that a map of the South Downs National Park be inlaid into the surface of the courtyard. This is made of granite slabs showing Petersfield and surrounding villages represented by brass and stainless steel icons. Some will be easily recognisable to those who know the area but some are more obscure so accompanying interpretation will be used as a guide to explore this striking artwork and the local area. This was all designed pre-COVID, but now offers a safe way to access the museum in an outdoor setting. Visitors can enter the cosy courtyard for a coffee and enjoy the wide-ranging, engaging collections and diverse educational and events programmes.

The team celebrate the end of construction, November 2020

The new and improved Petersfield Museum will tell the story of this ancient market town and surrounding villages through objects, art, literature and dress produced or collected by its residents. The collection includes the work of local artist Flora Twort and archaeology from prehistoric barrows on Petersfield Heath. Forming a significant part of the collection is The Bedales Collection of Historic Dress donated to the museum in 2007. This includes over 1,000 items from the 18th century to modern day and was built up over a 50-year period by the school, and particularly by music and drama teacher Rachel Cary Field (staff, 1941 – 1975).

The collection mirrors 250 years of social and cultural change and includes rare and nationally significant pieces, including an item recently loaned to the Design Museum for the ‘Women Fashion Power’ exhibition. A number of garments have strong local provenance and the great majority of the collection formed part of the Bedales Wardrobe.

Of the dresses, an aesthetic, Liberty style, cream silk dress from the mid-1890s is particularly rare, as are comparable Arts and Crafts garments from the early 1900s. Such ‘countercultural garments’ survive in small numbers, with the V&A, Museum of London and Platt Hall, Manchester holding most of the few surviving examples.

The museum also holds a nationally important collection of some 2,000 books by and about the renowned poet, writer and Steep resident, Edward Thomas (1878-1917). Like so many others, and this is still so true today, the Thomas family were attracted to this area by three things: its direct rail link to London, its countryside and, of course, Bedales, which Edward’s wife Helen knew of before it relocated from Haywards Heath in the early 20th century.

The Poet’s Stone

The collection is held within a new Edward Thomas Study Centre which is open, by appointment, to students, readers, researchers and visitors, who can explore his work and then the wonderful landscape around us that inspired him, and many others, so much – and continues to do so. Edward Thomas is amongst the War Poets commemorated in Westminster Abbey. The Poet Laureate Ted Hughes considered Thomas to be “the Father of us all”, and his life and work is included in the National Curriculum. Thomas’ time living in Steep coincides with a critical phase in his life when he made the transition from literary critic to poet.

Thomas’ connections to Petersfield are important to understanding his life and work, which features and interprets the countryside of Hampshire, the South Downs and the south of England. Amongst items on display, or available to view, in the Edward Thomas Study Centre is a copy of one of his daughter’s Bedales exercise books, in which he has drafted three poems.

The Petersfield Museum’s courtyard, looking across to the café and Edward Thomas Study Centre

In the museum’s final gallery, visitors can see a film of original footage shot on location in Petersfield and the surrounding area, capturing the local diversity of architecture, history, landscape, wildlife and culture. This includes shots of both the Harrow Inn and views from the Poet’s Stone, which many of you will be familiar with. The stone is a memorial to Edward Thomas, which is still the subject of regular walks from both the main school and Dunhurst and Dunannie.

What makes this film so special, emotive and rooted in the area, is that it is overlaid with a recording of Daniel Day-Lewis (1970 – 1975) reading Thomas’ poetry, the use of which was permitted by the Poetry Archive.

Like so many things, the pandemic has delayed the opening of the museum, but we very much hope that doors will open to the public later this year. Working at the London national museums was infinitely inspiring, exciting and challenging, but having the chance to be part of the team to create a museum in my hometown, is a dream come true.

The new and improved Petersfield Museum opened to the public in June 2021. Tickets can be booked in advance online at the Petersfield Museum website, or at the Welcome Desk as you arrive at the museum. The museum is open Wednesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm, and Sundays and August Bank Holiday, 11am – 4pm.