Hi All,
Welcome to the St Michael’s College, Hitchin website.
St Michael’s College was a Catholic school for boys, which was administered by priests from two religious orders; the Edmundians from 1903 to 1925 and from 1925 to 1968 by the Assumptionists. The school in Hitchin closed in 1968, and moved to Stevenage.
The school was located in Grove Road on the site that is now occupied by the police station. It was founded by a Fr. Prevel from the Society of St Edmund in 1903. His order was persecuted in France and decided to settle in Hitchin. The Edmundian Society employed four priests to instruct five pupils after buying a house on the site and St Michael’s School (later renamed College) was completed in 1906, with a new wing then built in 1919. But by 1925 the Edmundian Fathers found themselves in dire financial straits caused in no small part by their ambitious plans.
Priests from the Order of Augustinians of the Assumption gained control of the college and the parish church, and this also marked the end of the Edmundian Fathers in the UK. The priests wore long black habits, and around their waists they wore a leather belt which fell almost to their feet – which was a convenient means of applying discipline to pupils when the priest felt it was needed. In the inter-war years, the school gained popularity among the increasing number of Catholics in the area and the school housed a number of boarding pupils. Days were long – 7am starts, and 9pm evening prayers were a must, before bed at 9.15pm – yet the school was a victim of its own success. As the number of pupils requiring catholic grammar school education continued to rise after the Second World War, new premises were needed. Due to space constraints expanding on the Grove Road site was not an option. However, the growth of Stevenage new town during the 1960s led to the school being relocated there experiencing a subsequent amalgamation with St Angela’s School for Girls to become the John Henry Newman School of today.
This site contains the material from the original fsnet site (now closed) run by Colin O’Leary (SMC 1950 – 57) until his death in 2002, then by Simon Curtis (SMC 1967 – 1972), together with pictures from Friends Reunited (also now closed) and a huge amount of archive material collected by Michael (Chas) McCartney and others of the Old Michaelean Association. In particular, historical whole school panoramics and the Michaelean magazines have been scanned in and are available on this site.
For those interested in the stats, this site is 2.9 GB in size, has 169 pages, 1147 posts, and contains over 1500 pictures and documents (PDFs). In addition, there is a blog with the latest updates – see Archives at the top right on each page.
This site also allows for comments to be made, and any suggestions will be gratefully received. Also, there are gaps in the panoramics and Michaelean magazines. I would be grateful to receive any of these or any other relevant material to put on the site.
St Michael's College, Hitchin 
Stefan – Thanks for letting me know about this new site. Certainly nice to know that St Michael’s now has an active website. Read through 1 or 2 college magazines, and which brought back memories!
Regards
Terry Simpson
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Ah ! Fr. Roger, alias “the Dean”…after being found with a tin of condensed milk misappropriated from the school pantry during my single year a boarder before returning to use Birch Bros bus to Bedford I was awarded ” 6 of the best “; although Beresford Pearce and others; possibly David Fregard could only see 5 stripes on the bruised bum. Brendan Mohan also travelled daily from Bedford & some other names may flit though this meandering brain . Did a Kevin Clarke sit beside me at one time; and a Malcom McHatty, in a different class ? Who else recalls the woodwork teacher Fr. Richard, and his rejoinder “you may break your mothers heart but you won`t break mine” as our tenons failed to entwine with mortices.
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I remember Father Richard (“Dickie”) and one day, during a Woodwork lesson, he tried to kick me, for some reason. However, before Father Richard was able to “land” the kick, I caught hold of his foot and pulled him, with Dickie hopping on one leg, around the Woodwork room and him shouting “Put me down, Fogarty, put me down!”
I was at St Michael’s from 1959 to 1964 and I remember, from my class, Leszek Durniat, Michael Jones, Terry Marshall, Bruce McKee, Peter Gamester, Chris Bonar, Stephen English, Geoffrey Hoare, David Buckley (there were two, with the same name, in the class), Anthony Unwin, Peter Page, Antony Marengo-Rowe (who died in 2003), Michael Hoppenbrowers, a guy called French, another guy with what I think was a Polish name (starting with a B, I think), Michael Thompson and a guy called Bonass (?).
When Antony Marengo-Rowe died (In Papworth Hospital, following a Heart operation), I helped his girlfriend, Pauline Crossan, to organise his funeral , which was held at the church at the “bottom” of the drive that the whole school used to go to, on a Thursday afternoon, for Benediction. Pauline wanted some of Antony’s class mates to be there but, unfortunately, I had a trip to Spain booked (so I could not attend), although I did show Pauline where the church is (new church with the old one serving as a Parish hall) and where the school was (now a Police station).
My brother, Martin (who was four years younger than me), also attended St Michael’s and was known to Stefan. However, Martin died three years ago, on the 8th of June and is buried in Bedfordshire, in a Woodland cemetery belonging to the (C of E) diocese of St Albans. He wanted a “green” burial and I got my Parish Priest (Father Norbert Fernandes, here, in Welwyn Garden City) to conduct a Graveside service, with a “green” coffin, in the woodland, on a very hot day. Although we were in the pandemic, it was not Covid that took my brother but a number of other causes and Martin died in theLister Hospital (Stevenage) with me being the last person, apart from Hospital staff, to see him alive.
For those of you who are interested, I got married four years ago, on April the 19th 2019, to Pamela and we live, as I said, in Welwyn Garden City. Pam had been married, before, but I am enjoying my first marriage.
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Hi Terry Simpson! Were you the boy who played the trumpet? If so we were in the same class in the 195’0’s;!! I remember Fr Phillip getting you to play Trumpet Voluntary at a concert!
Best wishes Denis Manley
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Were you the boy who played a trumpet? I remember you playing Trumpet Voluntary in a concert and felt really sorry you had to go through it having been I felt coerced by Fr Phillip Lennon to do this! Perhaps you enjoyed it but you didn’t seem at the time!!
Denis Manley
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Denis – certainly was me playing the trumpet, and still playing today – a few orchestras and a couple of brass bands. As I remember in 1957 had just finished my first session with Welwyn Garden City Band and waiting at a bus stop to go home.Brendan McKeown happened to come along, asked what I was doing. Playing trumpet in a band I replied. At school the next day, Fr Phillip spoke about an end of term concert. Simpson plays the trumpet, McKeown shouted out. Thanks Brendan, I thought,. Was hoping that it was something I would do away from school ! I was by that time with a private tutor who suggested The Trumpet Voluntary and wrote out the music for me. Beyond that Fr Phillip became a good friend of my family and would often come over to Hatfield to chat to my parents. Many years later I visited him at the church in Bethnal Green and had lunch with him. Sometime later we, wife and I, invited him over for an evening meal when we lived in Berkhamsted.
Do you remember Tony Mileham and me visiting you at your parents home in Cardiff possibly 1958, one half term? We went swimming at the Olympic pool in the city
Good memories. Am now living in Wiltshire!
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Hi Terry
Great to hear from you after some 65 years! I left St.Michaels in December 1959. having done a term in the 6 th form .At 18 I joined Barclays Bank and worked for them until I retired at 55 in 1997! I have a 53 year old son my wife having died in 2001. I’m presently in Australia visiting him and his family. I live in Lytham St Anne’s Lancashire.
Fr Philip became superior at Walsworth House where I resided for 5 years or so and I liked him but not his musical temper! I can’t recall you coming to Cardiff but all the detail you quote seems accurate !!
My email is denismanley@hotmail.com if you want to keep in touch from tine to time.
Fantastic hearing from you ! Regards Denis Manley
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Father Philip! I remember him. I’m Paul Bissonnette (Bissonnette 1), and I was there from 1955 or 1956 until 1958 with my brother Peter. I remember that the choir used to go here and there on trips on the weekend, and used to share heaps of chocolate, and I wanted in on that. So Father Philip tested me out with scales as he played the piano–and refused me!
Unlike you’d expect from dramas, his judgement turned out to be both honest and right.
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Way to go Stefan! Your email (both of them) went into my spam/trash folder. I thought it might have been a sophisticated phishing email. Glad I clicked…
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Great stuff, Stefan. I was beginning to think that was that as far as the old school went. Can’t wait to have a nose around the site.
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Very interesting to read about st. Michael”college. I was there from 1940 to 1947 and was fortunate enough to be be school captain in my final year. I was a member of Fisher house and thoroughly enjoyed captaining the college”s 1st eleven at both cricket and soccer. Which were your years at St. Michael’s? Regards, John Zazzera.
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Hi John do you remember my dad Gerald Bayford he would like to make contact always mentions you take care and all the best. It would be really good to hear from you at this time of year kind regards
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Hi John,
My two brothers both attend St.Michael’s approximate late 1930s early 1940s
Their names are : Derek and Peter Bonner.
I have been doing a bit of family history so it would be nice to establish when they were there. I was born some 12 later than my brothers. Derek died some years ago and Peter although physically well now suffer s from dementia.
Hoping you can help, thank you.
Max Bonner
Melbourne.
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I was a pupil at St Michaels from 1941 to 1948. I played for the cricket and soccer teams, played tennis and like everyone else who was a boarder I boxed. However I was not a catholic but I was treated as if I was, having to attend all church and chapel services and religious instruction. I knew Peter Wolf and remember his death quite clearly, it was at the time a tragedy that probably would not have happened nowadays, with the advance of medical knowledge. I am now 85 years old and live on the Mosel in Germany with my second wife who is German. I still play golf and am a member of the local shooting club, shades of the my army days!!! I play piano and write music for my own amusement and generally mix with the local community. I wish all old Michaelians a happy christmas and a prosperous new year. Barry Capon.
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Hi Barry,,
My two brothers Derek and Peter Bonner attended St.Michael’s somewhere very late 1930s to early 1940s. I am some 12 years younger than them and did not go to St.Michael’s.
I am doing a family history and it would be good to know any information as to when they were actually there. Derek died some years ago however Peter is physically well but has dementia.
Any memories of them ?
Thank you. Max Bonner.
Melbourne
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It was not the end of the Edmundian Order in England In fact they regrouped at St. Edmunds Ware.
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Hi William, I believe the Edmundians are not connected to the school in Ware, so I think the original statement that the Edmundians left the UK is correct. Unless anyone knows otherwise!
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As someone whose grandfather and great uncle were in the first five boys at the school (I was there from 1952 to 1959) I can only say what a great job you’ve done here, Stefan.
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Tony, I was at Saint Michael’s from 1954 through to 1958. I was a boarder and was from Canada. Do you remember me. Mr Divine was my teacher. Michael Teear was in my class. Peter Bissonnette
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Hi Peter. I left St. Micks in 1959 after a year in the 6th Form. I was 16 years old. I don’t know how that fits for you. When the preparatory part of the school was built I transferred to St. Micks in 1951 or 1952 from St Francis College in Letchworth, which till then took boys of preparatory age. I have to say that your name doesn’t ring a bell, but that may be because you were a year or so below or above me. Some of the names in my class were John Fedigan, Michael Kitchen (became school captain), Dave Hassett, Mike Macnamara, Ian Gavin, Mark Gibbling, Pete Taylor and Eddy Morris (plus several others).. Do any of them ring a bell? I’m now living in a farmhouse in Normandy, but if ever a reunion was organised I’d be over like a shot!! I still have several children living in and around Hitchin. Let me know if what I’ve said rings any bells. Regards . . . . Tony
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Thank you for remembering me Peter. I do remember you too. I was a border from 1954 to 1963. I emigrated to Australia in 1973 one of the last 10 pound Poms. Over 9 years there is much to remember. I love reading the comments. There was a scouts group located in the prep school hut but sadly closed down as I was about to join. The army cadets also closed down as I was about to join. I think there was only about 6 boarders when I left. I used to cycle home at week ends (about 25 miles) as there was not much happening at the school at weekends with no boarders around. I remember Clive Chappel cycled to Reading at weekends. Keep up the great work Stefan
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Barry Wells
I was a boarder from 1956 to ‘58 when I was moved to a school in Sandwich. I remember Mr Brosche the French master and his observation that “ . . there was nothing so fine as a woman’s arse”. Fr Peter was Prefect of Discipline – I had the bruises to prove it. But he was a good guy. Fr Ignatious taught something, but I remember him for trying to turn an ancient Austin 7 into a gang mower.
I live in N Queensland now
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Hi Peter
I read your message in the St Michael’s report with interest, and I remember you from my years at the prep school. My teachers were Ms. Smith, Mr. Divine and Fr. Ignatius. My brother Fred and I emigrated as teachers to Canada in 1969. We currently live in Vancouver and Saskatoon respectively. Best, Pat Renihan
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Many thanks Tony – your comment is much appreciated
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My father Gerald Bayford went here from 1941 to 1946 he has many memories of his time spent at St michael’s and says hello to John John zazzera he is now 86 and living the high life in spain and thanks Zazzera for the broken nose as it got me out of a lot of problems in my life. I would like to make contact if
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Hi Stefan you have made my father’s day Gerald Bayford when I showed him your site he would love to share some memories if you so wish
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Anyone know what happened to Di angelo thanks
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I am sorry to say Tony died in 2019. Here is the obituary to Tony – he had an interesting career:
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Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but my grandfather Reginald Godfrey and his brother Edward were two of the first 5 boys at the school. My grandfather died in the influenza epidemic after the First World War. I was at the school from 1952 to 1959 in the tender care of Fr. Roger Killeen.
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What an absolute joy to speak with you Stefan. You asked me to recollect some of my memories at school, so here goes.
My name is Michael Hilderbrand known to some as “brittle bones. I was a full time boarder from 1956-1961.
Roger Killeen who put fear into most of us by his sheer presence, we as boarders were very aware of this especially after lights out in the main dormitory. One particular night a certain John Hucklesby decided to catch up on some late prep in the toilet, on his way back to bed a bit of horseplay developed and it got a bit rowdy. Killeen’s study was below us slightly towards the end of the building, he obviously heard the commotion and decided to investigate. Our lookout who was positioned to his nearest point of entry alerted us to “shut up, Killeen’s on his way”. A silence fell upon the dormitory and all were quiet and feigned sleep. He proceeded to walk up and down between the ranks of beds and finally came to standstill beside Hucklesby’s bed, looked down at him and said, “are you asleep Hucklesby?” to which the idiot replied , “yes father”. He received his fate the next day.
On another occasion Killeen had set us some history homework, our task was to memorise the poem The charge of the light brigade. I believe this contained about twelve verses. In our form we were quite an unruly lot, none worse than a fellow scholar called John Platt whose reputation for doing homework was very poor. Our next lesson duly arrived the following week when Killeen advised us he would select one of us to recite said poem. At this point I wanted to die, as I had completely forgotten about it, Here I give thanks to God for he must have answered my prayer that I was not selected for this awesome task. My good fortune came in the shape of John Platt who gave a faultless recitation of said poem. I think it must be a school record because in the history of St. Michael’s no one ever received 5 house points from Roger Killeen.
At my first term as a boarder, we had some good senior prefects and some not so nice. At this time “Fagging” was still a ritual which was employed by the prefects. I was duly appointed to be Fag to a prefect named Michael O’Mahoney who was not one of the nice ones. I was summoned to the prefects room, knocking and entering into a cloud of cigarette smoke to have wet sodden and caked with mud football boots and shoes thrown at me with the instruction to clean them spotlessly. As I was now his appointed fag for the term. In addition I was also to do his washing up rota for the term. (A Rosta for washing up all boarders plates etc was issued each term). For this at the end of term I would receive 6d. The cleaning of the shoes was the hardest part as inevitably they were always we. To perform this task we (the fagees) cleaned them wet and left them to roast on the hot water pipes behind our beds, which was fine but it had a bad effect on the shoes in that they dried in a curled form and had long white stain marks running through them. This was solved by stuffing old newspapers in them and applying large amounts of cherry blossom. I became quite an expert by the end of term. Approaching O’Mahoney for payment at the end of term ended up me searching amongst the nettles for my hard-earned sixpence, because that’s where he tossed it. Nice chap!
There are many more stories I can relate. Maybe if we have a reunion which I would like to attend, we can all swap stories.
I notice one of the contributors is Terry Simpson. Are you the one from Hatfield, good pals with Tony Mileham? You also played the trumpet rather well if I am correct.
That’s it for now. Regards to all that know me.
Michael.
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I’m the older brother of Peter Bissonnette above, Paul Bissonnette. We were there from 1955 until the end of 1957, when we returned to Canada. I remember Mr. Divine from Prep 2, who sometimes used to interrupt class by telling long episodic stories whic I late came to realize were classics from Shakespeare and so on. I also remember Fr. Ignatius and Fr. Peter, along with Fr. Roger the Headmaster, who we found to be quite terrifying, to tell the truth.
I have been living in Japan since 1975.
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Frank Hancock here, `61 to `66. Used to arrive daily from Bedford with eight other lads monitored by two Six Formers (eek). Loved French (thanks `Bugs`) enjoyed Latin (ta Ricket, oops sorry Headmaster) and learnt to hate teamwork (sorry Laing). Took up Judo instead. Went to Cardiff for four years and finally escaped to France (ever seen `Escape to the chateau?`), well my Company owned one and we had a `blast`. Learnt a lot from Fr Lemmon (music theory) and used it for drumming (studio session work). My Mum was a singer, so it and I came in handy when she recorded (Yea….I did get paid). Had a good time in school; actually came across a Bibbings in Manchester once; probably Michael`s (61 to 66) son, another solicitor. Hey ho, lads.
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Can I join in ?
I went to St Michael’s in its first year in Stevenage ,1968, but my father Robin Bennett went to St Michael’s in 1934, and my older brother Peter, went to the Prep School in 1956 and then the college in 1962. My younger brother, Nigel, went to stevenage in 1977.
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Of course you can join in. I was in the same year as Peter and remember him well – one of the smartest in the class! He is present in one of the photos of the prep school, and well as the panoramics.
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Adrian Bennett: My memory is not great but did you wear glasses?
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Paul Wren you were my era Vincent Knight 1965-68
MrHanley Ms Chater et al
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The problem with having a poor memory for my entire life is that I’m having trouble recalling specifics. I spent 1 year in Hitchin, must have been 1967, and then off to Stevenage where standards went downhill pretty fast as far as I was concerned. No longer was there the top floor of the main building in Hitchin where Prefects could dish out discipline on behalf of the teachers, ha ha.
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hello, just sharing a “happening”. I live in Dublin now & during an over 70’s golf match asked an opponent if he had been schooled in England. “Yes” he said, in Herts, not Hitchin ? I said, and so 2 (quite )old St.Michael’s lads met & have since shared a bridge morning & coffees & we live 5 mins walk from each other. Small world. He is David Blair, I’m Phillip Chambers who GCE’d from Hitchin around 1959.
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Many thanks for your comment. It is indeed an incredible coincidence. Hopefully you both have some good memories to exchange about the good old days at St Michael’s.
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