The first Art Studio at Downe House, in Kent, is shown in the gallery of archive photos below as looking neat and orderly. As pupil numbers increased though, there was a need for more space and a new building for a Gym and Studio was put up in the grounds. 

The lease of Down House in Kent (the school took the name of Downe House from the village of Downe, the house was on the edge of the village) allowed the school to put up new buildings on the condition that they must be taken down again should the lease be terminated and the school move away. So when the move to Cold Ash came about, by necessity as the number of pupils had grown steadily, the new buildings were taken down and transported over to Cold Ash. The rebuilding of the gym and the studio were among the first projects here after the move in 1922.  

Miss Hensman, the first teacher of Art was energetic and encouraging - she always called the girls ‘poppet’.  Miss Dorothy Willis, Olive’s sister, was a keen amateur artist and as she was a frequent visitor, she would regularly draw and paint with the girls and also give talks on art.  

“Will You”, from the 1911 School Magazine. *punctuation and spelling as in the original ! 

“Will you work a little faster!” 

Said Miss Hensman to the girl 

“I can’t see the perspective, 

And my brains are in a whirl,  

I’ve gone lost my bungy 

And my pencil’s bust its point.  

And the paper’s got so smudgy, 

And that leg’s all out of joint”! 

“Will you march a little faster”,  

Said Miss Lane to me one day,  

“There’s your leader close behind you 

And you’re getting in her way”! 

“I’ve gone and lost my hankey,  

And the sole’s half off my shoe”. 

(So we added brain to common sense 

And stuck it on with glue.) 

The school welcomed a great number of visitors to lecture on all sorts of things of academic and cultural interest, including Art, and of course, this has continued through the years, as have visits to galleries and exhibitions. The school magazine often carried reports of the lectures and the visits, ranging from a short paragraph to five pages, most are hugely enthusiastic and there is often, at the end, a wish that the particular lecturer will make a return visit so they can learn more.   

Miss Bulley did return on a few occasions, showing the girls pieces of pre Columbian art, some stone carvings and some early European pottery. Lantern slides were a thrill in themselves of course, and one report noted, perhaps with a touch of disappointment, the use of an ‘easel and pointer’ instead. 

A Mr Wright lectured on etching and dry point; ‘we realised what beauty and expression can be obtained by scratching on copper’, Sir Kenneth Clark visited to lecture on Botticelli and visits to exhibitions in London were a great source of inspiration.  

The rather dramatic glass roof of the rebuild Studio allowed in too much light, so after a short time some of the glass was covered and then further building up towards what is now the History Block led to the second configuration, now recognisable as Room H.  

Past pupils would often come in to work with the girls, and friends of the school around and about often invited girls to their homes to paint and draw or see their private art collections.  One Sketching Club outing was on a most drippy day and a kind farmer offered the group the use of his farm buildings. Waterside locations were favourites;  Wherwell on the Test, Mapledurham and other spots on the Thames and a visit to the Mill House in Kintbury. One trip to Streatley went by way of Aldworth to see the famed Aldworth Giants in the little church of St Mary’s.   

The lunches and afternoon teas on these expeditions always seem to have been quite special, either provided in baskets by the school kitchens or by the generous hosts - on one summer afternoon they were treated to freshly picked strawberries and cream!  One report of such a trip expresses some concern that Sketching Club is becoming so popular two omnibuses may be needed in the future. 

A great number of girls have gone on to Art School after their time at Downe House, some have made it a career and some have been lifelong amateur painters – many have returned to the school to work alongside the girls, to guide and to appreciate. Art always matters to the girls here and the Art rooms and the Pottery Room have offered a quiet but inspiring space down through the years.