Clifton College Website

Hankey's House

Staff

Housemaster:

Mr Lanion Hall

Matron:

Mrs Denise Lewis

Matron:

Ms Joanna Robins

Tutors:

• Mr Philip Clear
• Mr Alex Durkin
• Mrs Helen Edwards
• Mr Tim Martin

Founded in 1969 and based at Nos 1-2 Cecil Road, which used to be a boarding house for Clifton High School, Hankey’s was named after Mr. Hankey who had recently retired as Headmaster of the Pre.

The first Housemaster was David Hudson, a keen sportsman and author of at least two books, coaching Cricket and Rugby. His brief was to set up a family orientated unit - a homely base - and Mrs. Hudson even had the task of making all the curtains, and with fourteen foot ceilings this was a tall order, literally.

After two years D.C.N.Hudson was appointed Headmaster of Shrewsbury House School, a Prep School in Surrey, and Colin Millar, an Old Cliftonian himself, took over the reigns for the next fifteen years, establishing many fine traditions for which Hankey’s became famous. He also achieved the classic feat of marrying the Matron; a move which has given him countless years of pleasure in married life. Gill continues to help out with Matron Duties in Poole’s House and Colin still keeps in contact with the Pre.

Ian Nuttall succeeded Colin Millar after his fifteen years, the accepted maximum in those days. Early in his tenure Poole’s House was closed as a boys’ boarding house to prepare for the arrival of the first girls in the Pre in 1987. This meant that the remaining Poole’s boys were shared between Hartnell’s and Hankey’s, thus pushing up Hankey’s numbers to an unprecedented 72. To accommodate this total, eight boys were billeted out at 9, College Fields, the house of Mr. Paul Hutchinson, our Second Master. This annexe became known, affectionately, as ‘The Hutch’.

In 1993 Hankey’s moved to Guthrie Road, where Guthrie House is now and then in 2005, coinciding with Ian Nuttall’s retirement after nineteen years at the helm, it moved again to its present location at the bottom of The Avenue. Colin Langley took over the reins for three years before moving on to Hartnell’s and Mr. Lanion Hall, having already run North Town successfully for many years, renewed his association with Hankey’s in 2008.

Today the number of boys is down to thirty as the new building does not share the same grandeur of the previous houses. There are four tutors in the House – Mr Phil Clear, Mrs Helen Edwards, Mr Alex Durkin and Mr Tim Martin - and two matrons – Mrs Denise Lewis and Mrs Joanna Robins - who share the different responsibilities of looking after the boys. The smaller number of boys in the House lends itself to the original idea behind the first Hankey’s House of creating a family orientated, homely base. The ethos of the House is “Respect” - respect for oneself, respect for the other boys in the House and respect for all the adults. With the principle of respect in place, we are able to give each individual the necessary time and space to grow so that all the boys are able to work towards their potential. We are all different and we all have much to offer, but we need encouragement and guidance to achieve our goals.

© 2006-12 Clifton College