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12 Oct 2005 08:55:30
This week the University of Luton welcomed a special guest through its doors to celebrate a very important birthday, and to reminisce about life at the Park Square campus, long before it became a university.
Vice Chancellor, Professor Les Ebdon, greeted 100-year-old Marjorie Stoneham as she returned to the site where she went to school almost 90 years ago, when it was Luton Modern School. And the Luton-born grandmother couldn’t quite believe the changes.
“I can’t believe there are so many students here. The University is bustling with activity. It’s wonderful to come back to the site of my former school and see so many young people studying here,” she said.
Marjorie, originally from Belmont Road in Luton, remembers her schools days well, including the day when the First World War came to an end. “I recall being in art class and the town crier came out of St Mary’s Church to announce that the war was over. All the children cheered. We were given the rest of the day off. It was such a wonderful moment,” she said.
After the war, all the female students were moved from Park Square to tin huts in Alexandra Avenue. Students used trams to get from the town centre to their new school. This was a big change for Marjorie.
She recalled: “I didn’t like studying in the tin huts. In winter the rain would bang on the roof and make so much noise, we couldn’t hear the teacher. In summer it got so hot that we couldn’t concentrate. The heat was unbearable. I longed to be back in Park Square.”
Aged 16 she took a job in one of the local hat factories, where she worked for several years. Her own father, a keen Luton Town Football Club fan who came from Inkerman Street, also ran a small hat factory in Luton.
Indeed it’s the hat industry that Marjorie will always associate with Luton. “When I think of Luton, I think of hats because it was such a thriving industry for so many years and my family was involved in it. My generation was very proud of Luton’s hat industry ” she added.
She also recalled the time when Vauxhall came to Luton. “I can remember my five uncles were contemplating working there but they were advised to stay in the hat industry because it was safe. We didn’t think motor cars would be a success!”
Today Marjorie lives in Cambridgeshire where she moved in the mid 1930s with her late husband Richard. But she keeps in touch with her 90-year-old brother Alec Brown, who still lives in Luton and regularly tells her about developments in the town.
“I’m glad to hear that Wardown Park is being renovated. I loved walking through it as a child with my mother. We always had to dress in our Sunday-best if we went there,” she said.
And she’s delighted that Luton is on the up. “I’m hearing good things about Luton’s future. I’m very impressed with how the University has grown and I hope the town continues to go from strength to strength.”
Photos (click on images to view larger versions)
Mrs Stoneham as a child with her grandmother (left).
Mrs Stonham with Professor Les Ebdon; photo courtesy of Luton News
Latest news» 2005» Oct» A Century Recalled as Ex-student Visits Park Square Site
