I May Not Be A Princess, But Here's My Castle

[Smith1942]

In keeping with the royal theme of this week, here's my castle!

I can't claim to be a princess, but I did live in this castle for a while. This is my university, Royal Holloway, which is one of the seven colleges of the University of London. The building shown is Founder's Building, a copy of Chambord in the Loire. I lived in this building during my English degree, overlooking the playing fields. It looks expensive but it wasn't - this was before any tuition fees were introduced. It cost about 60 pounds a week for a room and to live and eat there. You had to share the bathroom. It was very spooky at night, going down the corridor with the stone gargoyles inside leering at you. Friends of mine had turret rooms, which I didn't, sadly.

Enjoy the pics of "my" castle!


http://www.google.com/search?gs_rn=22&gs_ri=psy-ab&gs_mss=royal+holloway+ol&cp=20&gs_id=26&xhr=t&q=royal+holloway+college&biw=1092&bih=506&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.49784469,d.dmg&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=lnHxUeuVApW-4APCuYCYDA#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=TvWRRPG5zZDimM%3A%3BlhHBJLybutRQeM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.myeducationconsultant.com%252Fuploadfile%252FWebEditor%252F201211042254157086.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.myeducationconsultant.com%252Fen%252Fproducts_detail.asp%253FID%253D25%3B858%3B634

In this pic, my room was on the third floor, (second floor to any British people reading), fourth window from the right, partially obscured by the bay window to the left of my room.

http://cache2.allpostersimages.com/p/LRG/21/2150/R43CD00Z/posters/brooks-jean-royal-holloway-college-egham-surrey-england-united-kingdom.jpg

 

[amc80]

That is amazing!

 

[Smith1942]

It really is an amazing building. It was built by a wealthy philanthropist, Thomas Holloway, who had made a fortune selling pills and ointments but he and his wife had no children. So he opened the first women's university in 1888, this one, although back then the degrees were not accredited by any institution. It wasn't part of the University of London then.

There is a sister building a mile down the road. Today, it's luxury flats, but Thomas Holloway built it as a sanitorium for the mentally insane.

Inside, Royal Holloway's Founder's Building is pretty raggy. It's been upgraded a little since I lived there, though. Not to sound about 100, but in my day there was no central heating.

 

[rosetta]

Brrrr sounds cold! Finding an ancient pile to live in on the uk is not hard. Finding a well insulated pile with central heating certainly is!!

 

[Smith1942]

I know. I can't remember if it was cold or not - I suppose it must have been. We had these little gas heaters but you couldn't leave them on all night.

It was a good experience, but the place was in disrepair so I wasn't too sorry to leave.

Forgot to say that Thomas H. was a friend of Matthew Vassar, which was modelled on RH.

 

[JewelFreak]

What a wonderful building! Far more interesting than everyday box-like dorms. It's unfortunate that schools do usually let them get down at the heels, isn't it? Still, imagining is fun. Beautiful chapel!

The college I went to was originally a mansion & later they bought quite a few neighboring mansions that became classrooms & dorms. Sitting in class, I often looked at tatty panelling, carving, fireplaces, etc., and mentally redecorated the rooms into showplaces.

--- Laurie

 

[Smith1942]

There were plenty of box-like dorms on campus - just that those are never pictured! When I filled out my application form, and we had to name a first-choice dorm, I put down Founder's Building, and then I wrote a pathetic note in the margin, saying something like, "Please, I would really appreciate the chance to live in Founder's." I've found that begging works, sometimes!

Actually, the modern dorms were more comfortable, really. At least they had heating! Yes, it's a pity the schools get so run down. I guess the upkeep is just too much.

Your college sounds very romantic, actually.

 

[JewelFreak]

Sounds more romantic than it was. Beautiful houses with lovely bones but rooms painted institutional beige with cheap red carpeting, furnished with battered tables & chairs, don't raise the spirits much! Still, I had a good time decorating & arranging parties in my head when classes got boring. We had heat at least, but no air conditioning -- very uncomfortable in June & Sept. The gardens of course hadn't been kept up either, but oh, some of the trees still there flowered marvelously in spring & an arbor in front of the original main mansion blossomed with heavy wisteria -- gorgeous!

--- Laurie

 

[Smith1942]

Oh, God, what you say about institutional beige and cheap carpeting is bringing it all back - that's exactly what Founder's Building is like inside! What a great description you made. Good times, eh!!

 

[mayerling]

Smith, I had a job there a few years ago.

 

[JewelFreak]

Oh, God, what you say about institutional beige and cheap carpeting is bringing it all back - that's exactly what Founder's Building is like inside! What a great description you made. Good times, eh!!

I'd still rather that than boxes, though I felt sorry for the houses to have gone down so far in the world. I don't know about the lack of heat, however.... When you're that age, it doesn't matter as much, I guess.

Mayerling -- cool, what did you do?

--- Laurie

 

[AGBF]

The universities I attended were not architecturally interesting. The discussion above did make me think about my high school, however. It was the discussion of interior spaces more than exterior that got me to reminiscing. I went to high school in a very large, old house. I had English class (each year) in the same room with the same teacher with the windows looking out on the front lawn and the fireplace (which was not lit). It was, originally, a bedroom. I had French in the same room each year, too. From the outside the house was beautiful and there was a huge tree that blossomed in the spring with what looked like huge, pink magnolias. We students always discussed whether they were actually magnolias. We weren't in the south, but in New England, and didn't know if we had magnolias where we lived!

The school actually housed kindergarten through seniors in high school, although the younger children were in the Lower School in an another building slightly down the hill on the same property. I think my graduating class was about 20 girls. Maybe not that many.

Deb/AGBF

 

[JewelFreak]

I know that school, Deb. Neat that you went there! Near my old stomping grounds, Bronxville, Greenwich, New Canaan & Fairfield, Stamford for shopping too. A bit bigger now, huh? Did you re-decorate in your head too?

--- Laurie

 

[lovebug1031]

Smith,

I'm now convinced you went to Hogwarts! Kidding, it's a beautiful college.

 

[Smith1942]

Mayerling - really, you worked there? What a coincidence! What did you do, and when were you there? Did you know Barry, that hilarious security guard?

Deb - your school looks really pretty. Like something out of Anne of Green Gables.

Lovebug - when the Potter films came out, I did think that Royal Holloway would have made a wonderful Hogwarts, especially with some computer trickery thrown in. In my opinion it's a great pity the film-makers didn't use it. That would have been so exciting.

 

[amc80]

It's not a castle, but not a bad place to have spent 4 years (well, 5 when you include grad school):

 

[JewelFreak]

Where is it? I'm on the next plane! Looks like heaven for school.

--- Laurie

 

[Smith1942]

I'm coming to visit you, with my beach towel and sunglasses at the ready!

 

[amc80]

Where is it? I'm on the next plane! Looks like heaven for school.

--- Laurie

Santa Barbara!

I'm coming to visit you, with my beach towel and sunglasses at the ready!

Well, now I live in the high desert....so not quite as fun...or pretty.

 

[Smith1942]

I've heard a ton of good things about Santa Barbara.

OK.....I've unpacked. I don't want to go to the desert.

 

[amc80]

I've heard a ton of good things about Santa Barbara.

OK.....I've unpacked. I don't want to go to the desert.

But wait! This is only 30 minutes away...

 

[JewelFreak]

my blood pressure just went down 40 points just looking at that photo! Oh sigh. How did you manage to pay attention to studies, living there?

--- Laurie

 

[amc80]

my blood pressure just went down 40 points just looking at that photo! Oh sigh. How did you manage to pay attention to studies, living there?

--- Laurie

Luckily I am one of those who can get good grades without much effort. Problem solved.

 

[Smith1942]

amc, please let me come and live with you as your maid! We are having the worst summer here. So rainy. Got my towel and sunglasses out again!

 

[amc80]

amc, please let me come and live with you as your maid! We are having the worst summer here. So rainy. Got my towel and sunglasses out again!

Deal!

 

[mayerling]

I worked in RHUL but not inside Founders. I did research in one of the departments there in 2010.

 

[AGBF]

Deb - your school looks really pretty. Like something out of Anne of Green Gables.

It was pretty, Smith. The school was moved and merged with The Thomas School the year after I graduated and that wonderful house was torn down. I am so glad that I got to finish school within that charming old building.

Later though, while I was studying history, I did teach high school at the new Low-Heywood Thomas School. They were on a much bigger campus with acres and acres of green lawns and playing fields for the ubiquitous girls field hockey (which I always loathed). The Thomas School was infamous because their headmistress, Jean Harris, who had gone on to become Headmistress of The Madeira School after Thomas closed, had murdered Dr. Herman Tarnower, known as, "the diet doctor" when she found he had been cheating on her.

If one is American, one has to settle for the petty intrigues of independent schools, rather than royal scandals. So mundane in comparison! And you wonder why the royals interest us!!!

Deb

 

[Smith1942]

I worked in RHUL but not inside Founders. I did research in one of the departments there in 2010.

It was RHBNC when I was there! I'm showing my age. Did you enjoy the university? What is your subject? And isn't Founder's stunning? So much bigger then the photos.

 

[Smith1942]

AGBF - I can't believe the headmistress was a murderer!!! Good God. That's a great story.

Agree about the intrigue of the Royal Family. I think that human beings need someone or something to worship, and will always put someone on a pedestal. Even though we have the RF we still worship soccer stars. George Best, Gary Lineker, Paul Gascoigne, David Beckham - all of them gods.