History of Sedbergh School in 50 Objects #17: Sedbergh School Song Book
After the Victorian expansion of the School under Heppenstall and Hart, music burst upon Sedbergh and was an immediate success. A Musical Society which met once a week was founded in 1883 and although voluntary, included nearly every boy on the School roll. Sedbergh had begun its musical renaissance.
The arrival of Masters R.S. Ainslie and P. A. Thomas in 1884 further strengthened Sedbergh’s musical culture. During their first term working at Sedbergh, the pair began composing School Songs together. The December issue of The Sedberghian magazine included the words to their first song, which was entitled simply ‘School Song’. The song came to be known by its refrain, Sedberghiam nactus es, hanc exorna, the motto given by Heppenstall.
Weech refers to Thomas’ ‘happy knack of writing, just the right music for Ainslie’s words’. Their partnership produced a stream of witty, rousing songs ‘such as few schools can boast’. These included ‘Football Song’, ‘Sledge Song’, ‘Cricket Song’ and ‘The Long Run’, the last of which continues to be sung every year by finishers of the Wilson Run.
The songs were gathered and published by Jackson’s in 1896, with a reprint around 20 years later including three more songs with music composed by Mr A. W. Ogilvy. ‘The Song of the O.T.C.’ had words by Bernard Wilson; the words of ‘The Clerk of the Weather’ were written by Ainslie; and those of ‘Winder’, now adopted as the Sedbergh School Song, were composed by Mr Frederic Blagden Malim (1907 – 11). ‘Winder’ is a celebration of the landscape that the School sits within, and the opportunities that it brings. The song is an ode to the Howgills, and to ‘Winder’s clear cut outline against an evening sky’.
Sedbergh’s songs have great resonance with our community. It is most poignant that when a new motto was sought for the 500th anniversary of the School, it was found amongst the lyrics of ‘The Long Run’. For 150 years our pupils have run the Ten Mile course climbing the hills, splashing through the becks and ghylls and running the long final leg back from Danny on the road. On the night of the race all of the runners climb on stage in front of the whole school to sing ‘The Long Run’ with its momentous chorus:
Strain and struggle,
might and main;
Scorn defeat and laugh at pain,
Never shall you strive in vain
In the long run.
And it is that line from the chorus, ‘Never Shall You Strive in Vain’ that Sedbergh has chosen to be the school motto. ‘Never Shall You Strive in Vain’ conveys the sense that whenever in life you put effort into something, it wont be wasted, regardless of the outcome. It speaks to the value in striving, and celebrates the intention and the eagerness that we all have to try.
Sedbergh’s songs continue to inspire, uplift and bind Sedberghians together. ‘Winder’ is sung by our staff, pupils and alumni at dinners and formal occasions such as speech days, but also sung out on top of fells, while running races even when breath is short, under viaducts on School trips to enjoy the echoing resonance of the sound. Our School songs permeate every aspect of Sedberghian life, trickling into the subconscious both to frame the Sedberghian mindset, and to further cultivate the deep love of the landscape felt by so many in our community.
