Farewell to the old dining hall

Many Old Eastbournians and staff will remember the old College dining hall behind Powell House, which closed when the new catering  facilities were opened in the Winn Building in 2019 as part of Project 150.

Having stood on the site for almost 60 years, the building is no longer fit for purpose and is being demolished this summer. Here College archivist Paul Jordan looks back at the history of the dining hall and the early reactions by some pupils. 

The former dining hall and kitchens (next to the medical centre) have served the College well in a variety of uses for nearly 60 years. Primarily to provide meals for the pupils and staff, it also hosted events such as the 1967 centenary headmaster’s cocktail party (complete with a cake in the shape of the school) and finally was in use as an exam hall.

Before its opening, meals were provided for the pupils in their own houses – each house had its own kitchen and dining room.  Day boys ate in a purpose-built dining hall, opened in 1951, at Powell House.

It was decided to centralise the kitchens and in 1962 new ones were built to serve all the houses.  Food was delivered to the houses by trolley until a new dining hall was added to the existing kitchens in September1965. A covered way was built between the hall and the former Powell dining room to facilitate the delivery of food to the newly established staff dining room.

The Eastbournian reported:

The improvement in the food, which can now be served straight from the kitchen, was at once apparent.  Amongst the modern equipment is a public address system,  which is used for the saying of grace and for announcements.

Initially, the food was distributed in the dining hall by the pupils until 1968 when a cafeteria system was introduced. One pupil noted at the time, ‘Supper is somewhat chip invested… I rather enjoy chips.’ However, another was rather dismissive of the new regime:

Much praise has been given to all concerned in the change from 'family service' arrangements in the dining hail to the present 'cafeteria service'... the whole system of feeding is devoid of any decency, and typifies a low grade café in nearly every respect: trays, queues are distinct trade-marks. But it is hardly something that reflects the dignity of a public school, and especially one of the calibre of Eastbourne College. This is yet another example of a change which, when complete, will rob the school of any identification that it is a public school… Surely in a day and age when manners and morals are becoming increasingly elastic, there should be a class to set the standard. This can only come from the public schools, and this includes Eastbourne College.

For this particular individual, worse was to come. In the 1990s, the long tables were cut down in size, chairs replaced benches and café-style tablecloths were introduced. There was even a salad bar.

The dining hall did sterling work until 2019 when the new facilities opened in the Winn Building.

We will be featuring the old hall in next year’s Old Eastbournian magazine and would be very grateful if any OEs would share their memories of College meal times by contacting the archives at archives@eastbourne-college.co.uk.