We are delighted to share images of the revamped school archive which has had a major renovation over the last term.
Historically, the space had been untouched since the library relocated in 2007, with the archive on the accompanying mezzanine floor overlooking the Goddard Room. However, the mezzanine is no more, with the Archive morphing into a closed-off room, with the big display unit which was once prominently positioned in the middle of the room now redesigned along the new wall. The carpenters did a fantastic job of rebuilding and reshaping the shelves which makes maximum use of wall space so that we are now able to include tables in the room for meetings and discussions.
We are also delighted that ‘Urwin’ is back in his usual ‘guard duty’ location at the top of the stairs beside our giant Mr Charles Cuddon “Whitbread: Keep a Little in the House” poster. Major Urwin Thornburn MC was a highly distinguished Second World War veteran (whose family donated his uniforms to the school) and Cuddon was a highly respected English teacher and author who worked at Emanuel for 39 years.
Alumni in particular enjoy visiting the archive and this is where all our wonderful photos and objects which are kindly donated are stored. This is undoubtedly the ‘hub’ of where the many “Can you tell me anything about my grandfather?” type enquiries are answered from. The oldest school records and rolls dating back to the 1870s are also kept here.
Now that younger pupils are now allowed to visit the library and prospective pupil tours have restarted, everybody is always impressed by the incredible range of alumni who are celebrated on the archive stairway walls, including sportsmen and women, actors, Oscar winners, BAFTA winners and a recent winner of a TV Emmy Award.
Mr Jones (Senior Librarian and Archivist)
