Manor Reunion Lunch

On Saturday 14th May over 100 Old Manorians and their wives (and even a sixth month old baby!) came back to Taylors’ for a Manor Reunion Lunch. It was a wonderful day full of catching up with old friends, Housemasters and House Tutors. The afternoon began with tours of the School, including tours of the Manor of the Rose. While no longer a boarding house, it does now house a number of teaching and support staff at the School. One of those living areas, now occupied by the language assistants, was open to our guests for the day, so a number of OMTs were able to see their old bedrooms! 

Following the tours, the reunion moved to the OMT Clubhouse - a first visit for many of our guests. Photos scanned from the School Archive and snippets from old editions of the Taylorian were displayed around the room which were quite a conversation piece. One of the display boards even seemed to have been taken hostage before the night was over!

While the guests enjoyed a drinks reception, the Development Director, Nick Latham, and former Housemaster, Stephen Cole, spoke. Nick talked of how the event had come about and how many OMTs we had re-established contact with over the course of the year. As an example of the strength of feeling that Manorians have for their House and for the values it espoused, he cited the prize that the Classes of 1998 and 2000 have established which will reward the boy in the Fifth Form each year who embodies the 'Spirit of the Manor'. It will be awarded for the first time this year at the Feast of St Barnabas. Stephen talked about the strong bond between the boys and the House and the support they gave one another. He had the audience in fits of laughter with tales of the antics that went on during his time in charge of the House.

After the brief formalities, guests enjoyed a barbecue and the weather behaved better than had been forecast, so the outdoor seating on the balcony became the prime spot. Over the course of a a lively afternoon, OMTs shared stories, dug out old photo albums and artefacts from their time in the Manor (including a copy of the Manor Rules which can be downloaded from the link below) and the bar remained open into the evening.

We hope that for the next event, the invitation list will be even wider, but this means tracking down those OMTs that remain 'lost' to the School. There is a link to those people for whom we don't have an email address below. If there is anyone on that list you can help us reach, please do get in touch. Even if it is just to tell us their first name if we only have an initial - this certainly makes tracking them down that much easier. We'd really appreciate your help. Stephen Davis (1984) is convinced we can find everyone!

Thanks must be extended to all members of the JCR who gave tours of the School: Amit Kerjiwal, Sean Li, Joe Salkeld, Xavier Castelino, Nicholas Clifton, Hayden Davis, Lewis Duckworth, Paramvir Khera, Aakash Mohindra, Fore Obatusin, Daniel Roback, James Seery, Luc Worthington, Aaron O’Brien, Emrys Thursfield and Nick Skovron; to Picasso for organising a wonderful barbecue; Victor, Miriam and Marion, the language assistants, for allowing us access to their flat; and Stephen Davis (OMT, 1984) for being instrumental to the planning and organisation of the event.

Manor Rules

To view the list of Missing Manorians, please click here.

Back to list of previous events.