Under the Spreading Cedar Tree - School Life at Spring Grove House Isleworth - The Black and White School as Seen Through the Eyes of Pupils 1924-1959 (Paperback)

From long before the first Spring Grove House was built the two Cedars, which eventually stood to the south of it, were in place. Legend has it that they were sent by the Duke of Marlborough to the Duke of Northumberland who planted them to mark the boundaries of his Syon House estate. One remains to the South East of the house, close to the new theatre block. The other larger and more majestic tree stood close to the SW corner dominating the house and the memories of those who visited it. Pollarded close to the ground by heavy chains, there were four magnificent arms that gave tremendous cover. Beneath this tree Sir Joseph Banks and Captain Cook are said to have planned their voyage to Australia. During the 1950 Christmas holiday there was a heavy fall of snow and, shortly before the school reassembled, the tree collapsed. Almost 60 years later to the day, in December 2010, the L.T.Brown Memorial Lebanon Cedar, funded by past pupils at the Spring Grove Schools, was planted at the SE corner of the house which is now part of West Thames College. It is hoped the tree will link the house of the 19th and 20th Centuries and its schools to the college of the 21st. "A t Isleworth we occupied a building that had been the home of Alfred Pears and, before him, Sir Joseph Banks. The atmosphere of a 'home' persisted during our period of occupation and staff and pupils worked together like members of one large family. The red brick house, set in its well-kept grounds, always seemed to be a friendly place but a school is more than just a building. The Spring Grovian virtues of happiness and friendliness continue to flourish as of old." - An unattributed view of a senior pupil in the "Spring Grovian" magazine in 1960.