Antique Clifton College School, Bristol, Team & Class Photograph x 2, Old Cliftonian

This listing includes both framed photographs. 

Rare, original & authentic, dated around 1915

Mounted within the original wooden oak frame

45.5 x 35cm approx

The larger group is Clissold's (retrospectively Wiseman's) House, taken in Michaelmas Term 1915; the other is the House team at the school Sports in Lent Term 1916. There are fully captioned copies in the College Archives. These photos are unmarked as Clifton College. 

Marked to the mount: George L Eves, Clifton, Bristol, with the Bristol coat of arms above, who I assume was the photographer.

The sporting photo relates to an athletics team, magnifying to the centre of the shield, shows running hurdles.  

Good condition for age, with some wear, fading, marks, foxing and discolouration. The photos would benefit from the removal and cleaning of the inside of the glass, as there is some discolouration. Deterioration to the back paper lining, as you will see from the photos.

Clifton was set up by Bristol businessmen and led by Dr John Percival, a visionary, intellectual Head Master who believed in science, the education of women and racial tolerance. He was a Victorian ahead of his time; he aimed to produce “children of varied but definite character” and built a school where the teaching, library and chapel were central to our private school.

His curriculum and activities outside the classroom developed young people who were confident without arrogance and had a sense of responsibility towards others; characteristics which remain today.

The buildings have a rich history of their own, from the famous architects who designed them to the people who occupied them. In the 1880s, the provision of education for Jewish pupils fostered cultural understanding, whilst in the 1940s, occupation by the US Army meant the pupils had to be evacuated to Cornwall, producing a modern, focused outlook amongst the pupils and staff.

This ensured the next generation was well-equipped to handle the social changes in the 1960s, when many equivalent schools struggled. These unique events ensured an easy transition into co-education in the 1980s.

Individuals throughout the College’s history have made their names and changed the way society operated. Old Cliftonians who have gone on to become household names include actors Trevor Howard and Simon Russell-Beale, comedian John Cleese, inventor of the Belisha Beacon Leslie Hore-Belisha, General Douglas Haig, journalist John Inverdale and GB Hockey player Lily Owsley, whose team won gold in the 2016 Olympic Games.