Postcards reflect the 20th century history of CH, showing not only the buildings at Hertford and Horsham but also special events such as Speech Days and St Matthew’s Day excursions to London. Postcard views of the school when it was in London are generally the rarest, as the postcard only began to become popular at the time that the transfer to Horsham was taking place, in 1902.
Whilst from a first glance at the many postcards produced of the Horsham site it may appear that the main buildings have changed little over the years, closer inspection shows differences as additions were made, especially in the early years after the move when buildings and features were being constructed, and later when, for example, the war memorials were built in front of the Dining Hall.
Postcards showing scenes at CH, Hertford, are important records of a site which closed in 1985. However, some of the buildings there still exist, unlike those in London which have all been demolished. Fortunately there was a certain amount of salvage, with the most significant feature, the 17th century Wren portico, moved from London and built into the rear of Big School at Horsham, as well as the archways to the quadrangle and several statues, all of which have been shown on postcards.
Postcards which reflect everyday events were often produced in small numbers, being essentially photographs printed with postcard backs for ease of sending the images to family and friends soon after the event, rather than being produced for general sale.
Messages on postcards were often brief and not very informative. However, sometimes the messages contain insights into school life, especially where a collection of postcards written by a pupil has been kept intact.
In general postcards relating to CH are relatively inexpensive to collect and the range is enormous, with around 1,000 postcards published from 1902 onwards.
The image on the left is of the booklet, published in the CH Heritage Series, titled Postcards. It has 150 illustrations and serves as a light touch history of CH in the 20th century.