College atmosphere

The College was considered dark and cramped. Gas lighting nearly always burned to dispel the gloom.

During the common London fog - the pea soupers - the gas either did not burn at all or combusted with an eerie blue light. During these episodes, candles were distributed to students and boys.

The boys occupied the school in the basement and used a playground by the chapel. Usually they did not mix with the older students, but the sound of their whistling could be heard throughout the building like so much demented birdsong.

Laboratories were abuzz with activity and lecturers such as Professor Charles Wheatstone and John Daniell undertook cutting edge experiments.

The College was lit up with the vivid electric blue of sparking apparatus and on at least one occasion, a build up of hydrogen nearly killed a chemistry class.

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