Bedstone Court - The Story of a Calendar House
Written by John Richard Hodges
The story of a splendid Victorian ‘Calendar House’ with, it is said, a window for every day, 12 chimneys for the months, 52 rooms and 7 entrances – a sign of good luck for all who enter.
The mansion was built for Sir Henry Ripley Bt in 1882 by Thomas Harris who had already built Milner Field in Yorkshire for Sir Titus Salt Jnr. The builders included the company of ‘Cubitts’ who had recently worked on ‘Osborne House’ on the Isle of Wight for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
The story outlines the history of the Court itself, the Ripley family and their family history, through the ‘Langleys’ who had rented the Court for over 30 years. It covers the War Years when two schools were evacuated to the house and several of the old boys from the time have added their memories.
Chapter 10 tells of Mr and Mrs Rees and the founding of the school here in 1948 and includes the personal memories of the author who was a pupil here from 1962 to 1969, under Mr Rees, then Mr Harrison and Mr Laming as his headmasters.
The final chapter explains the events when in 1996 the Court nearly burnt down completely in a devastating fire. By providence and under the tenacity and courage of the then headmaster Mr Michael Symonds, the Court rose again from the ashes to an even greater splendour than before.
This is a personal story of a splendid ‘Calendar’ house, written with a genuine passion and a great deal of affection.