Charles James Grist
| Charles James Grist MA | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Grist, Charles James.jpg | |||||||||
| Born | 1856 | ||||||||
| Died | 1941 | ||||||||
| Residence |
Tiffin's School, Kingston Smallfield, near Horley, Surrey [1921] | ||||||||
| Occupation |
academic educator | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Contents
Notes
Office Notes
House Notes
Proposed by William Gowland; seconded by J.L. Myres 1905.02.14
Notes From Elsewhere
not the entomologist of the same name
Charles James Grist was born in Wells, Somerset, on 17th November 1856. He was born in the slums of Wells as an illegitimate child, his mother being Catherine Mary Grist, and Charles lived for a few years in the house of his grandparents, William Thomas Grist, who was a bookbinder, and his wife Mary Ann. In due course Charles’ mother married a William House, who may or may not have been his father.
I have no idea how many men applied for the headship of the new Tiffin School, or at least the male section of that school, but at that point Charles had no degree, so he must have impressed those interviewing him considerably. Apparently Charles went to a school in Wells, but it has not been possible to find out which, though Grist in his application form stated that he went to Wells Secondary School from 1864 onwards, but that school cannot be identified. At the age of 14 he was a pupil teacher, and ten years later found him at South West Training College at Carmarthen in Wales. Having left Carmarthen in 1876, Charles taught at two schools, Nightingale School, London NW from February 1877 and then Bridgnorth Blue Coat School from 1877 to 1879, before his appointment to Tiffins in January 1880 with a salary of £600 a year; but by then he still had no degree. Whether he promised at his appointment that he would continue to study is not known, but from 1880 Charles studied at King’s College and Birkbeck College, University of London, gaining matriculation there in Jan 1884. I was puzzled for a while how his degrees (BA in 1887 and MA in 1890) were from Trinity College, Dublin; they have confirmed that he had never studied in Dublin and that his degrees were external in nature.
An unsolved mystery is when and where did Charles James marry Augusta Bown; the marriage doesn’t seem to have been registered, very late for a non-registration. What is certain is that two children were born: Edith Augusta in 1888 and Leonard Charles in 1891. Both were born in Wells, even though the parents were living in Kingston. Probably Augusta went home to mum for the births, not unusual at that time. Leonard went to Tiffin Boys’: whether Edith went to Tiffin Girls is not known, but it is possible. Though she is not specifically named, it appears that Edith was Tiffin’s first Secretary from October 1907 until her marriage in 1916, certainly in the 1911 census she is described as a secretary but the proof word ‘school’ is not given. It appears that a Miss Cook was School Secretary from 1916 to 1918, to be followed by Miss Rose Grantham who held the office to 1928. She had been a teacher / secretary for some time before coming to Tiffins, in fact she had her own school, presumably a dame school.
What sort of man was C J G ? I am reluctant to give my views, as naturally I never knew the man. What is certain is that he was enormously respected both by boys still at school and those who had left his control. But he was strict and is recorded as having said that he could not see how a boys’ school could be run without the use of the cane, and when he caned he caned hard. An example recorded was when an unpopular boy was put in a dustbin which was pelted with stones, but unfortunately a rebounding stone hit and cut another boy passing by; next morning there was a line of boys outside the study door who departed much more uncomfortable than when they had arrived. The funny thing was that Grist, while believing in the use of the cane, also believed that only he, and possibly Mr Lucas, the Deputy Head, should administer such punishment. This is shown by an incident when Mr Thompson, a teacher of some years standing, caned a boy for inattention, three strokes only, not a severe punishment. The father complained, and from the Governors’ minutes it is obvious that the Head made very little attempt to save the master; however, the affair blew over and Mr Thompson stayed at the school until 1932, when he retired, except for a period fighting in France, where his son, an Old Boy of the school was killed. The Great War caused much severe grief to Grist, for as he read out the Old Boys recently killed his eyes filled with tears. Anyway, as the war ended, the first Head of Tiffins announced his retirement. While all the above is perfectly true, a continual strain on Charles James was the completely inadequate buildings in which the boys tried to learn. Not only were the buildings a problem, but also the constantly rising number of boys attending; even the girls departure in 1899 only temporarily improved the situation. A new school was mentioned even before the First World War, but that event put a hold on any such hopes. After the war more temporary huts were erected, and as we know a new school was not built until 1929. There was quite a long retirement for Charles, and during those twenty plus years he quite often appeared at school functions. He died at Smallfield, where he had retired in 1919 and where he died on the 25th April 1941. The funeral took place on 1st May at St John’s Church Kingston and at Kingston Cemetery. The School was represented by Mr Dean, Mr Porter & Mr Wyndham-Smith and four senior prefects and the Chairman of Governors, Major Percy. Also attending were various representatives of the Old Boys. Among the family present were son Leonard, daughter Edith, then Mrs Lewington, and an Old Boy played the organ. A great man. How would Tiffins have developed without him ? BRIAN BUNKER
The school opened on 20th January 1880 under the Headmaster C J Grist, whose name is commemorated in the playing fields at Hampton Court.[tiffinfriends.org]
Publications
External Publications
Excursion to Richmond park, Kingston Hill, and Wimbledon Common: May 19th, 1917
C.J.GristM.A., F.R.G.S.(Director of the Excursion)
House Publications
Some Eoliths from Dewlish, and the Question of Origin. JRAI Vol. 40 (Jan. - Jun., 1910), pp. 192-208
What is a Natural Eolith? Man Vol. 13 (1913), p. 68