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I don't normally put much store by coincidences but this situation got me thinking. My mother decided she needed some TLC in a local residential home and temporarily moved from her sheltered flat in Frome to do so. I, being a dutiful son visit the said flat from time to time to collect post and ensure that things are generally in good order. I called in at the flat this afternoon to find a single piece of mail in her letterbox addressed to a Mrs Ruth Coard. The name seemed vaguely familiar but from where, I didn’t immediately “twig”. I establish the fact that the letter had been misposted and was for an address across the corridor from Mum’s flat. This lady is the wife of Peter Coard our venerable and much loved art teacher. My intention was to give her a quick call but she was out. I plan to look in the next time I’m in Frome in order to pass on my best wishes and to tell her (what she probably already knows in spades) that her husband was an inspiration to many of us and certainly instilled in me an abiding fascination in architectural history – I actually saved up (a lot of beer money in those days) and bought a Bannister Fletcher because he suggested it was the best text on the subject.

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Hi Mike, To my shame I never bought Bannister-Fletcher, or continued with architecture after A Levels. I was the only student with him for 1961-63. However my militaria book with line drawings inspired by the 'Ballpoint Botticelli' was published in 1986, so his labour was not in vain. I have seen some of his original work at the 'Building of Bath Museum' in the 1990s. Please add my name to your message. He was an inspiration to me as well. Graham

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Graham, I will do with pleasure - probably sometime next week. Mike

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Hi Guys. Sorry to intrude, but I have to add my two penn'orth. Sadly I did not have the opportunity to be enlightened by Peter, I wish I had! However all was not lost as for some reason I have always been inspired by classical architecture and although I'm sure that I don't understand it fully I sure can appreciate it. Probably a result of having spent so much time at Bath in my youth. Last year I had occasion to visit Chester for the first time, impressed or what? Excellent buildings abound, I've promised myself a return visit but never seem to find the time. Still, when I fully retire perhaps! Have fun all. Sticky.

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Hi Sticky, Even pre 'O' Level Peter was an inspiration. Does anyone recall his easel near the window of the art room at Weymouth House? Watching his water-colour of the roof tops grow was an experience. He did not suffer fools gladly either. My architecture essays came back annotated in red biro with large numbers of thumbnail sketches. His one hate was Victorian restoration. That got him going!!

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Mike, if it is the same Ruth Coard please note that she was an excellent artist in her own right and often helped Peter(Ben) recording the soon to be demolished areas of Bath, anyone know where the nickname Ben came from?

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You are of course absolutely right Anthony! I'm certain many of you have ploughed through that fabulous online archive of Bath photographs one of which shows both Coards sketching together back in the 60s. Obvously he is remembered with great affection and I will pass that on to her if she is in when I go to Frome next. Mike

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There is in fact a sketch looking across the rooftops to Bath Abbey on the Bath in Time website and I swear the only way to see that view was across Abbey Green from the upper floors of Weymouth House as was then, did the art rooms face that way. ie out across Fishy Evans and Abbey Green ?

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Hi Guys. Nice to talk again. If my memory serves me the art room at Weymouth House was indeed on the top floor, but at the rear of the building. ie. one set of windows facing Manvers Hall and the other set overlooking the rear yard, the one with the bogs. To obtain the view you describe it would be necessary to use the room commonly used by Archie Alvis for Geography, (I think). Could there have been more than one art room on the top floor? Have fun. Sticky.

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Just back from 10 days in Derbyshire. Had most of that great weather too. 27 degrees C on the drive north and 10 on the return!! Pretty cottage near Dovedale. Coach & Horses within five minutes walk. In my time the art room was the furthest room on the left/top floor. It was a corner site so overlooked the bike sheds & city wall one way and towards the Abbey the other. Peter's sketch is the one that set out the watercolour he had on the easel in that room. The view was from the window of the art room I guess. I think Technical Drawing was in the other corner room opposite and Geography down the corridor. Room '8' comes to mind. Was the library on the same or middle floor? Cripes it is half a century since we walked those hallowed floors! I just added the sketch to 'Old School Haunts'. It seems like yesterday!!

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Thanks for posting the sketch Graham, I must have spent the best part of an hour looking through Bath in Time's website for it before giving up, you know how it is when you are positive where something should be and its not there. Hope you are all keeping well and enjoying the mild weather, don't worry we shall pay for it later on so make the best of it now.

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I bought a black Bic biro thinking it would improve my pathetic sketching skills after once seeing him correct one of my feeble History of Architecture homeworks. Biro seemed to be his favourite medium but in my hands it made a smudgy mess. I proudly did some sketches of details from my local parish church only to be told that the Victorians had over-restored the whole building and that it contained nothing of any architectural merit - he certainly told it the way it was! God only knows what would have been said had PC rubbed up against John Betjamin the arch defender of Victoriana. I think PC had little regard for anything built after 1830! I can still remember the smell of tobacco smoke mixed with potting clay and printers's ink that pervaded that long art room at Brougham Hayes. There are few more potent memories (with the possible exception of wafts of Hydrogen Sulphide from Sammy Seal's lab) that still remain of the place. Mike

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I had the same experience with Bic! They did however make great pin-shooters with some blotting paper around the pin head! To my shame I binned all my History of Architecture notes of both 'O' & 'A' Level with those superb red ink annotations he made. In the BH art room his other interest was judging the temperature of glazes in the kiln by means of hand painted water coloured cards. He tried to judge the shade of the fire by eye for an exact temperature. Do you recall his amazing Firemark collection in that room too? It would be worth a fortune today. I suspect he might eat his words if he saw St Pancras Station or one the Victorian London sewage works now they are redecorated.

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