HODs – Industry, Design, Innovation, family history and more through school archives

Part of the Lincolnshire HODs Festival 2022

We will open the Garton Archive to display its contents and share recent research through two talks exploring Industry, Design, Innovation and family history through the pupils at Lincoln Grammar School in 1881 and their achievements. There will be two main strands to the morning:

1. Visit: from 10am to 1pm the Garton Archive will be open all morning. It includes a unique range of records, photos and objects from the four schools which merged in 1974 to form Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School. We are also collecting more recent items for our successors and descendants to enjoy in decades to come, and new contributions and donations are always welcome !

There will also be displays related specifically to the themes of Industry, Design and Innovation including original art, plans and individual stories

2. Talks. In recent years there has been extensive research based on Headmaster Fowler’s admissions book and the census to the later lives and wide-ranging careers of 50 pupils enrolled at Lincoln Grammar School in 1881. This is gradually being published. On 10th September this will be presented in two talks:

10.30am-11.15am: “From Lincoln to Krakatoa”. This is an updated version of the talk on presented online in 2021 about the six boarders identified on the 1881 census. Their later lives illustrate the confidence and opportunities of the late Victorian and Edwardian ages. Mining equipment patents and a full size plastic brick are two of the design innovations.

11.45am-12.30pm Second presentation: “What the day boys did next”. This is completely new, unpublished research on the 50 day boys and their lives after 1881. Many stayed in Lincoln, others moved to other parts of England and a few took their skills across the globe. Their stories tell of Industry, Innovation and Design, both inside and outside Lincolnshire. William Gregory Watkins, the son of a more famous architect father, is one example of these young men who left their mark.

Booklet Number: 23d

Region: Lincoln

Address: Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School, Wragby Road, Lincoln, LN2 4PN.

Time: Sat 10th 10.00 – 13.00

Booking required:  No

For more events, take a look at our Lincolnshire Heritage Open Days brochure. You can order a hard copy to be sent to you, or download our digital brochure for free.