The Court of Governors and McClure

Expansion of the School estate continued with the opening ceremony of the Murray Scriptorium taking place on 17 December 1903. In March 1904, the Sub Committee of the Finance Committee submitted a scheme for a special appeal in connection with the centenary of the School in 1907. The appeal would fund a plan to enlarge the School to accommodate 300 boys, creating essentially the fabric of the Quad that was still in place in the 1960s. New additions included: the Large for assemblies; 15 classrooms; heating for new buildings; School House and a swimming bath. The plan was approved at a meeting of the Court on 22 February 1905.

The 1906 spring holiday was a busy one for McClure. He took his leisure time to prepare three significant papers for the Court. In anticipation of legislation that would require all schools to be inspected, McClure formally proposed that Mill Hill should aim to be inspected by the Joint Board of the Oxford and Cambridge universities. He further proposed that exams should be undertaken in July instead of December and that the system of School Certificates should replace current examinations. His third paper proposed a system of annual salary reviews for masters. The Finance Committee considered in depth and approved this proposal finally in February 1908, with the proviso that it was a matter of School policy but not a contractual commitment to the teaching staff.

In 1906, the Governors adopted a rule that no boy would be admitted as a pupil of Mill Hill School unless he was vaccinated against small pox. In July 1906, McClure and the Court received what is a now a familiar letter from a prospective parent, Oswald Earp. In the letter he stated that he would not send his boys to Mill Hill since he considered compulsory vaccination to be ‘a violation of elementary human rights’ and a totally unproven and even dangerous medical intervention. Plus ça change.

The 1907 Centenary celebrations went ahead as planned and Mill Hill was honoured by the Prime Minister, Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman, attending the event and giving the prizes.

In October 1907, a Sub Committee was set up to consider the future constitution of the Court recommended that it was desirable that the Court of Governors include ‘personas of experience of other schools or persons of special educational eminence provided that the full predominance of Old Millhillians remains assured’.

The expansion of the School estate remained on track. Sir William made a gift to the School of £10,000 which facilitated the building of the Winterstoke Library. However, in January 1908, the Court rejected as undesirable a proposal to lease Bittacy House as a Junior preparatory school – presumably as a result of concerns that Mill Hill pupil numbers would be cannibalised by a focused prep school. This concern was subsequently proved unfounded when this idea returned a few years later in the guise of Belmont.

There was a change of pace in 1909: at the 31 March Court meeting, the Governors decided to reduce the unsecured loans of Lord Winterstoke. CapEx was confined to urgent priorities. However, in April the following year,

Lord Winterstoke offered to sell a plot of his land for a new House to accommodate 45 pupils. The transaction completed a month later and in December 1910 Lord Winterstoke loaned £10,000 at 3% secured against Collinson to build the new House.

On 29th January 1911, Lord Winterstoke died, aged 80, without heirs, leaving £2.5 million – the equivalent today of close to £310 million. The Court of Governors are said to have assumed that his will would include a clause writing off his loans and mortgages with regard to the School. However, that was not to be: the executors of the Lord Winterstoke’s estate recommended to the Court the institution of a sinking fund under which all the mortgages – approximately £40,000 (£4.9 million in 2021 money) – could be paid off over 30 years. If that proposal was approved by the Court, the Winterstoke estate would agree to lend a further £3,000 to fund the purchase of two fields in Hammers Lane opposite the West Grove Estate – ten acres of land adjoining the School.

On 1 February 1912, the Court approved the sinking fund, acknowledging that, for at least another 10 years, CapEx would be strictly limited and there was to be ‘great economy in the general management’.

Meanwhile the Court approved a proposal from the Old Millhillians Club to present a portrait of McClure and build a Music School to celebrate his 21 years as Headmaster.

For this £3,000 needed to be raised, most of which had already been committed and donated by Old Millhillians.

In June 2012, arrangements were concluded between the Court and Rooker Roberts regarding the establishment of Belmont. Rooker Roberts drove a hard bargain. Belmont was to be licenced for 10 and ultimately 30 pupils. All boys entering Mill Hill under the age of 13 had to be sent to Belmont until they reached the age of 13. Belmont would be regarded as one of the School houses with equivalent regulations and privileges and paying same fees, for as long as Rooker Roberts remained a master at Mill Hill School.

The pace of change again took its toll on McClure’s health. In November 1912, the Court unanimously agreed to ‘grant Dr J D McClure prolonged leave of absence in accordance with the recommendations of the Medical Officers’. Dr Arthur S Way was appointed as temporary Headmaster to hold the fort for two terms.