Welcome to Acklam Hall/Kirby.
As this is your first day in the office, it behoves us to tell you a little bit about both yourself, the school and the Hall. For any grammaticasters among you, and if there are none my excellent staff will ensure that you become one before you leave, please note the use of both is deliberate and intentional.
The grandson of William Hustler I, was knighted in 1678. This Sir William Hustler built the Hall in 1683 in the contemporary fashionable style, showing some Dutch influence in the gables, which are now gone. The Hall and grounds, over 40 acres, were sold to Middlesbrough Corporation by the last owner Mostyn Hustler in 1928 for the sum of 11,500 pounds.
Acklam Hall Secondary School opened in 1935. Thirty or so years later it was united with Kirby Girls and became the school which this site remembers.
In 20** the hall was sold by the new authority to be developed as a conference centre around which dwelling houses would be built. The school is no more.
As for you, remember your position in society. You are among the few that have passed the 11+. You are the elite, and as the elite you must show both leadership and service in the society that has favoured you with the education that this school provides…
And so, we learned, but were we educated? We lead, but was it up the garden path? We served, but whom did we serve?
The administrators hope you enjoy – enjoy a visit to a website you say? would we not prefer to sit in a comfortable place and converse with others of like and dissimilar minds over coffee and cake, or chocolate and truffles, or simply with a glass and those rock hard scones that your grandmother used to make?
Well, whether you enjoy it or not, please contribute, please comment, please add material.
Comments are moderated before being published, so please also be patient!
5 responses to “Good morning!”
An interesting post , although as an inmate (1961970) I was told that Charles II visited and stayed there, hence the royal coat of arms in the Library. If it was built in 1683, His Majesty would have been ‘knocking on a bit’; his demise, though sudden, was probably due to kidney disease. Do you know whether he really did come, and if so was the ornate plaster fit for occupation?
It is an interesting story and one that, being a close contemporary of yours, I had also heard, perhaps from your own mouth? I think you were a better historian than I. I had not doubted the truth of it until you now ask the question. Perhaps there are others better qualified who, now being able to see your post (with apologies it has taken so long), shall be able to answer.
Kind regards
I’m a little surprised that with the emphasis on “elite” and being one of the “ few” (about 15%) who passed the 11+ and would automatically be entitled to take O and A levels instead of the CSE at 15 …that you refer to it as “Acklam Hall Secondary School “ Rather than “Acklam Hall Grammar School”. Stainsby was one of six local Secondary Modern Schools in the Aclam catchment area, where the expectation was more towards technical skills and apprenticeship to trades than University.
However many “Sec Mod” contemporaries went on to achieve as well as any Acklam boys ;while a reasonable proportion of us achieved nothing much to write home about ( but were we happy?). Due to family issues and teenage angst, I dropped out at the end of lower sixth, but eventually returned to tertiary education after about ten years of “finding myself”. I went on to have a reasonably successful professional career and still do a bit of consultancy during retirement; but it was Acklam that gave me the values and attitude to do so.(though perhaps not in quite the way they envisioned!)
We understand that the original name for the school was Acklam Hall Secondary School, after which it metamorphosed into Acklam Hall Grammar School For Boys and later Acklam High School. There is a book of old photographs and memories of Middlesbrough by Paul Menzies which is readily available via Amazon or any good bookshop about the history of Middlesbrough which shows a copy of the programme for the opening of the school where it is described as Acklam Hall Secondary School. It is also referred to as Acklam Hall School for Boys and Acklam Hall Grammar School. Whether this was to differentiate it from Middlesbrough High School we do not know. It have been that because it was a grammar school it could offer places funded by the local authority. There is much in the history of the school which is not known to us.
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