St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School for Boys - Garden Fete and Sports 1896

This page has been prompted by the two rare documents shown below. They advertise a garden fete in support of Guy's Hospital which was held at the cricket ground of St Olave's School and show the events taking place on the day. The father of Ken's lifelong friend 'liberated' the two documents from Butler's Wharf when he left there in the 1970s. The friend and Ken are former pupils of the school.

On 22nd August 1896 a fund raising "Garden Fete and Sports" event was held at the St Olave's Grammar School Cricket Ground in East Dulwich. The funds raised were in support of Guy's Hospital.

St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School for Boys was sited at the south eastern corner of Tower Bridge and accessed from Tooley Street. Being surrounded by industry and housing there was no space for a sports ground locally and the site in East Dulwich was acquired to meet this need.

Shown below are:

• 

  a map from around 1890, just before the erection of Tower Bridge, showing the location of the school (red border) and its surroundings; note the neighbouring factories issuing noxious odours; the school building is shown by its former name of "Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School"
• a programme for the fete and sports event
• a listing of the sports events with prizes for the winners; amongst the benefactors providing prizes were Colonel Bevington (owner of Bevington's leather workings in Bermondsey), Dan Leno (famous music hall and pantomime artiste known as "The King's Jester") and popular magazines of the day such as Tit Bits
• a cutting from the South London Press from the following Saturday reporting on the event and providing a list of prize winners

Reflections on St Olave's School by "The Barrow Boy" has images of the school when in Bermondsey and memories from former pupils.