Strathallan Resurgent, 1920-30 - Strathallan School

Strathallan Resurgent, 1920-30
It is tempting for present-day generations
of Strathallians to think that the immense
investments of the last twenty years,
essentially six new boarding houses and a
sumptuous extension for Riley House,
together with a new state of the art medical
centre, not to mention a palatial art centre,
comprise the biggest period of expansion
in the School’s history. True, numbers in
this period almost doubled under the
stewardship of David Pighills (1975-1993),
necessitating the programme which placed
Strathallan in the forefront of Independent
education. But the first 20 years of
Strathallan’s existence in Forgandenny saw
developments which were just as
impressive and which were the envy of
many other public schools of the time.
Grounds of 60 acres and the main house –
Freeland – were purchased from Edward Martin
Stewart for £10,000.
Let us remember that when he came to
Forgandenny in 1920, Harry Riley had few
capital assets and had had to borrow a very
substantial amount to buy Freeland
mansion and its immediate policies,
comprising sixty acres of gardens and open
fields in addition to the mostly wooded
areas around the main house. He came to
Forgandenny with 120 boys and 6 masters,
a risky financial venture in the depressed
aftermath of the Great War, but quickly set
about turning the estate and its buildings
into a school. The mansion house soon
became dormitories for the boys and rooms
for Headmaster and the masters, the main
classrooms were fashioned out of the
former estate stables in what is now the
Riley courtyard, whilst the sciences were
taught in the old greenhouses adjacent to
the vegetable garden in the space now
occupied by the Chemistry and Biology
departments.
A Physics Laboratory in the 1920s – a converted
garden shed.
It is difficult to imagine now the sort of
sacrifices that the Founder had to make in
order to realise his dream of making
Strathallan one of the pre-eminent schools
in Scotland but David Bogie, later to be a
major Old Strathallian figure in the future
success of the School, had this to say,
‘Harry Riley continued to live simply and
without any material luxuries. He ploughed
back every penny of profit into the school.
It would be true to say that at each summer
vacation some capital asset would be
created and ready for use in September.’
Developments continued apace in the
1920s with the appointment of R. N. Bain
as estate foreman in 1923. Indeed, Mr.
Bain was to be associated with every new
building and project until his retirement in
1956. One of his first responsibilities was
to complete the construction of the new
gymnasium, quickly followed by making
the rest of the classrooms respectable and
beginning the conversion of the old
coachhouse into the sanatorium (now the
older part of Riley House). In 1924 the
Lawn and Paddock were levelled and
cricket squares laid for both practice and
match play. During the process of levelling

the Paddock a grave was discovered,
probably of medieval origin, though it was
believed in 1924 to have been that of a
Roman soldier. Harry Riley’s reaction was
to say, ‘Let the poor fellow lie’, so the
stones were replaced and the ground
slightly raised.
1 st XV pitch – now Mudflats
The gymnasium was opened at the end of
1923 and those Old Strathallians who can
still remember the school races and trials
in the Earn may also recall the opening of
the swimming pool in 1928, one of the first
in a Scottish school.
Riley Paddock in the 1920s
When the school had transferred to
Forgandenny in 1920 there were no
sporting facilities other than for tennis,
croquet and archery, so a lot had to be
done between the purchase and the
opening of the School.
The gym in 1923
The Lawn cricket ground, some time before 1926
One of the greatest problems at Bridge of
Allan had been the provision of sleeping
accommodation. At Forgandenny this was
not such a problem in the early years,
though by 1927 with school numbers on
the increase, it was decided to build a new
boarding house annexe, attached to the
main school building.
The main lawn to the south of the House
was made into a cricket ground, although it
was smaller than it is today - the area now
occupied by the music practice rooms was
once an ornate rose garden. The First XV
pitch in these days was situated on what
we now know as Mudflats pitch 2, flanked
by a stand on the northern side.
A typical 1920s dorm

The purpose was to be able to split the
school into four boys houses and, in
addition, provide a central dining area for
the whole community. Thus was Simpson
House born, named for Riley’s mother’s
family, conceived and completed by 1929.
At the same time a reorganisation of the
Chapel took place to fit everyone in and
the first formal school library was proof of
growing excellence in Strathallan’s
examination results.
Simpson House, ca. 1929. The House was named
after Harry Riley’s mother’s Rose Mary Simpson.
The first House Captain was Stuart Ferguson.
One might expect that, after a period of
such expansion and improvement, a few
years of retrenchment and planning might
have taken place, but Harry Riley was not
one to rest on his laurels and both staff and
pupils were to be kept in anticipation for
what each new September might bring
with respect to building projects. At this
point it might be well to note also that each
new development seems to have been
financed out of school surplus income and
that borrowing was kept to a minimum.
With the end of the 1920s came the Great
Depression caused by the collapse of the
American stock market, a period when
many schools suffered decline and
eventual closure. That Strathallan survived
and continued to prosper says much about
the financial acumen of Harry Riley and
his advisers, John Maitland Cowan and
David Bogie, together with the Strathallian
Club which, in the next decade, was to
prove essential to the future well-being of
the School.
The Beech Avenue, sadly torn down in the 1960s
to make room for the present Chapel.
The main entrance in the 1920s
Looking from the main entrance over the present
Chapel lawn.