An MTS Time Capsule: The Head Monitor's Box
The Head Monitor of Merchant Taylors’ School has been afforded the privilege of an office for many years, but the office holder has had to get used to moving on more than one occasion as the school’s need for office space has encroached on the official residence. This happened again over the summer of 2023 when the room at the top of the North Corridor was appropriated as part of the extension of accommodation for the school counsellors. With the Head Monitor left ‘homeless’ last September, the School Archive came into possession of the Head Monitor’s box, something of a treasure trove of leadership from the boys over the past 80 years, it contains documents dating as far back as the school’s move to Sandy Lodge in 1933.
The contents of the box are wide ranging. Unsurprisingly, there are a bundle of ‘lines’ with titles such as “Respect” and “The Importance of school rules in the school society”. Needless to say, these prove entertaining as the poor recipients sought to create content to hit the target number of words, apparently:
Tiny creatures like ants need respect because…although they are small…they still have feelings
Another correspondent tells of the unfortunate loss of life in a bag fight in Hong Kong as a good reason for not being allowed to leave his bag in the Lun during break.
Many of the documents reflect the key role of the JCR in running school events. The new boys’ visit to Merchant Taylors’ Hall appears to have been organised by the Head Monitor with minimal interference from the SCR, and detailed notes have been left with Alan Duncan’s (1975) signature and clear instructions built up over many years. Clearly this experience would have stood the future Member of Parliament for Rutland and Melton well.
Dating the box has proved difficult as several Head Monitors, including Sir Alan and Richard Brooman professed no knowledge of it when asked. A dilapidated box file contained all the names of Head Monitors back to 1961 but the box clearly dates from later than this.
Nevertheless, there are documents dating from as early as 1931 when the school was still at Charterhouse Square. The detailed guide gives a clear impression of the range of responsibilities of the JCR:
The 1930s booklet yields some wonderful insights to the school when at Charterhouse, including the proscriptive announcement about headwear below. The box contains many versions of the School Rules and Dress Codes, including Huw Elder’s revisions to uniform that saw the introduction of the current Charcoal Grey suit in the 1960s.
A letter from 1941, when the school was led by Norman Birley, gives details of a much-curtailed St Barnabas Day, due to the war.
The content from the box that is hardest to grapple with is that relating to the ‘Monitors’ Court’. The earliest reference to this institution dates from 1959, a time when Monitors had the right to administer corporal punishment. The notes give details of the procedure for appeal to the Head Master but then go on to explain how a boy should be addressed (‘Emphasise the disgrace he has fallen into’) and the punishment administered. Such rhetoric is an uncomfortable read by any standards and it is clear that by the 1960s Head Monitors were seeking alternative measures. This came to a head following a petition against Monitors' use of the cane that was reported in the national press:
As the extract shows, the Monitors’ Court had evolved into an Open Forum that anticipated the School Councils of today, an opportunity for the Head Master (the enlightened Brian Rees) to be invited to respond to questions of the day.
The minutes of these discussions reveal that boys’ concerns rarely change – notably the provision of school lunch where there was a demand to move from formal sittings to a cafeteria system, ruled out in 1971 due to the prohibitive cost estimated at £20,000.
There were concerns about safety on the roads around the site and the inevitable request for soccer as a games option, and the abolition of school caps in 1970! In 1974 it was recorded that:
A complaint was made about members of the staff smoking in the corridors and form rooms.
It was thought that this should be confined to the staff rooms.
Under Francis Davey these ‘Open forums’ became rather tempestuous affairs, with much frustration at a lack of change or acknowledgement of heartfelt concerns. Perhaps this letter from Davey to Simon North in 1976 helps explain the frustration of the student body:
It is hard to do justice to the breadth of material that the Monitors’ Box contain and the insights they give to the life of the school. Much has changed: the breadth of responsibility seems to have narrowed in terms of organisation of school events and maintenance of discipline, but there remain familiar themes that have not changed and to that end, we asked for previous owners of the Head Monitor’s Box for their advice to future generations.
