History of Sedbergh School in 50 Objects #32: Guldrey Lodge
With the growth of music at Sedbergh in the post war years, the Headmaster, Michael Thornely, believed that a dedicated teaching space for music tuition was needed. Michael had been an Organ Scholar at Trinity Hall, Cambridge and brought his deep love of music with him to Sedbergh. Guldrey Lodge was purchased in 1956, just two years after Thornely became Headmaster, to serve as a music school. The cost of the building was £6,000, just £130,000 in today’s money. The School then spent substantial sums repairing the property, particularly in addressing extensive dry-rot found to be present.
Mr Hind of Campbell College, Belfast, was appointed to the post of Director of Music, on a salary of £1,100 a year, minus £3. 10s. a week board and lodging. Mr Hind was ambitious for music at Sedbergh and developed intiatives to engage both pupils and adults alike. In the months following his arrival at Sedbergh he established a Gramaphone Library, open twice a week for an hour each time, and a corresponding Gramaphone Society for boys to come together on Sunday evenings and listen to recordings. In 1958 he founded a Concert Society which both parents and local residents were invited to join. In the first year six concerts were staged. Writing in the Sedberghian magazine when subscriptions for the Society surpassed 500, Mr Hing wrote:
‘The success of the scheme (particularly our ability to engage first class artists and eventually, perhaps a full symphony orchestra) depends upon those who contribute more than the minimum sun, and a number of people have, indeed, responded most generously.’
The original layout of Guldrey Lodge, once an impressive family residence, has remained largely unchanged in the last 70 years. The facilities at Guldrey have been augmented to ensure that the latest technology is available to music scholars. Nowadays the modern composition suites, rehearsal rooms and classrooms still feature original fireplaces and ornate plaster ceiling roses beautifully blending the old and the new.
The opportunities available to pupils studying music were greatly enhanced in 2011 by the opening of the Thornely Rehearsal Studio. This new resource could not have been built without a generous donation from Old Sedberghian, John Guthrie. As well as supplementing the rehearsal space available to musicians, the Studio makes an atmospheric performance space, with glass doors opening to the sunken garden beyond, the garden offering a performance space in its own right.
