Summerfields as a Local School in Hastings.
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A memory of when Summerfields House was used by Woodlands School ,Tower Road.
The Woodlands School 2010
My memories are not vast, we used to go to Summerfields at least once a week for the afternoon lessons. I remember having Geography lessons in a class room which was on the right as you entered the main door, the first impression I got when I walked into the building was sadness at how much a beautiful building had been neglected, the paint was peeling off the walls however it was somehow dignified if that is a term that could encompass a building. You walked through the main door and were faced with the staircase, we all wanted to just go up and find out what was there but there was a barrier over the stairs half way up and although we did go up as far as we were able we never did discover what it was like on the floor above. We did wander all round the first floor but all the rooms were empty and neglected except the two that were used for lessons which did have desks and chairs in them, from the windows we could look out on the grounds in itself as far as I was concerned a joy although it got me into trouble on several occasions as the grounds were much more interesting than the Geography lesson that I was supposed to be paying attention to. One of the other lessons we had there was in a hall I have no idea what it would have been used for before but to get to it you went passed the staircase and round to the right down a passageway and at the end of this was a long room it had a wooden floor and we used it for country dancing, we all remember those lessons they were fun, though I seem to remember that the whole class thought that country dancing was hardly a cool thing for 14 year olds to be doing at the time. When the weather was good we used to wander round the grounds before lessons and during break time, it was during this time that we discovered the what I have thought was a squash court for years but have now found out it was a soft ball court, it was in very good condition but the thing that made it special was a plaque on the wall dedicated to all the boys that fell in the great war, (I am not sure if it also had the names of those who fell in the second world war as well) the court was built as a memorial to them which makes the demolition of it seem rather unfeeling as I seem to remember it was built with money raised by the families and friends of these boys, it was in good condition when we were there and I am sure it would have been better has it been restored and used for the purpose that it was built. I remember thinking at the time that this was a memorial which had a purpose and was there for the enjoyment of future generations not just a piece of stone to be looked at as so many memorials of the time were. I know it sound silly but I always had the impression that the boys were there. It used to make me feel strange, but I never could resist going there whenever I could. For us the idea that we had attended a public school be it in such condition was something to remember, even if the memories have faded over the years, the walk up the drive to the school was a pleasure in itself at least in the Spring and Summer any way we used to wander off the path and through the woods well we thought they were woods but were probably at one time part of the gardens. I seem to remember lots of rhododendrons either side of the path which were superb in the Spring. It was so different from the rest of our school life which was spent up to that time at Woodlands School, Tower Road, no gardens, just concrete although the school itself was a relic of a previous age.
Janet Stevenson
Summerfields House was used as an annex to the Woodlands School untill July 1972. When it closed it was just a few weeks before Best Demolition would arrive with the bulldozers.
Janet Stevenson
Summerfields House was used as an annex to the Woodlands School untill July 1972. When it closed it was just a few weeks before Best Demolition would arrive with the bulldozers.