SCH M 02
SCH M 02
Colonies
Series
Colonies were houses for batchelor masters in which each resident had a bedroom and sitting room but meals were eaten communally, with a cook-housekeeper provided and to some extent subsidised by the school. It used to be compulsory for masters joining the staff to spend a year or more in such a colony and many batchelors were happy to remain in one until they took a house. However, the increasing number of married masters and a preference for independent living among the unmarried made them less viable and gradually most were converted into flats. From 2006 housekeepers who left were not replaced. The senior member - known as the `coloniarch' - was responsible for the finances.
1956 - 1987
The correspondence of Cameron Rose is particularly useful in summarising the benefits the members felt they obtained from colonies and the reasons for their gradual decline.