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Aerial view of the Clinical Block in May 2019, before demolition
CAMPUS NEWS
Aerial view of Hawkshead in about 1978
success. The once impressive operating theatre ended its days as a post room and facilities store.
Sadly, the building was no longer fit for purpose – expensive to heat in the winter, hard to keep cool in the summer and, above all, a very poor use of space in the centre of a busy campus. And so, 60 years on, the past will make way for the future
as we demolish the heart of Hawkshead
Demolition begins 15th June 2019
and make room for a modern teaching facility, ready to serve the next generations of students and staff. (See page six for progress on the redevelopments.)
“Jimmy” Buxton died on the 25th May 1954. He never saw the purchase of the Hawkshead estate or the development that followed, but his legacy has benefitted all those who have passed through the College.
The Clinical Block in July 2019
David Noakes: memoirs of the
Main Clinical Block and Obstetrics Unit
The changing face of Hawkshead – a fond farewell to the Clinical Block and the Obstetrics Unit.
As someone who spent a very happy year at Hawkshead as a final year student in 1960, and 31 years as a member of academic staff from 1971 to 2002, I have fond memories of many of the old buildings that are now disappearing.
Those built in preparation for the College’s move from Streatley in 1958, and those a few years later, were not the most attractive externally. In developing the Campus at that time, there were very strict planning requirements because
it was in the outer London Green Belt area; thus single story buildings, with green felt roofs below the skyline, as viewed from Brookmans Park.
For me, it is less about the buildings and more about my memories of the people who worked in them, and their contributions to veterinary education and science. Ironically, from a personal perspective, the one item that is most significant is the plaque commemorating the official opening by the Queen on
20th April 1959. This is significant to me because the day was designated a holiday and Sheila (my wife), who was in the year below me, did not attend because she had decided to attend St James' Park in London on that day.
The Main Clinical Block had a comfortable light lecture room with views over fields, which could comfortably accommodate the whole year group of 60-70 students at individual desks and chairs. As student numbers increased, accommodating the whole class became more problematic. However, the room was versatile, because it was an excellent venue for social functions such as dances. In later years
it was used for graduation and RCVS membership ceremonies.
For the surgeons who had worked
at Streatley, the new Clinical Block provided superb facilities with a beautiful light airy operating theatre, in which
up to three surgical procedures could be undertaken concurrently. Adjacent animal accommodation for dogs, cats,
small ruminants and small ponies was available, and a dedicated x-ray room.
The Queen unlocking the door to the reception area in the Clinical Block at the official opening of the then-called Field Station on 20th April 1959
However it was not the physical facilities themselves that were the most special, but the academic staff who worked in it performing ground-breaking procedures whilst teaching students. Persons such as Leslie Vaughan, Derek Tavernor, Gary Clayton Jones, Peter Bedford, Geoffrey
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