Ovenden College (1915-1950)

​​​​Ovenden College was a day and boarding school for girls in Barrie founded by educators Ethel Mary Elgood (ca. 1876-1973), Elizabeth J. Ingram (ca. 1877-1961), and Raina Strangford Shopoff (ca. 1880-1978) from 1915 to its closure in 1950.

Elgood and Ingram were both born in England. Elgood earned her First Class Teaching Diploma in Cambridge, while Ingram received her diploma in Oxford. Shopoff was born in Bulgaria and studied in England and Montmirail, Switzerland. At Havergal College, a girl’s school in Toronto, Elgood served as the principal and Shopoff as a teacher.

Origins of Ovenden College

In 1915, upon the invitation of Mrs. Daisy Georgina McIntyre Stewart (née Plummer, wife of lawyer Douglas Maxwell Stewart), Elgood, Ingram, and Shopoff arrived in Barrie to establish a school as co-principals in the place of Mrs. Wakefield, a retiring educator who ran a local day school. “Ovenden” was the former Strathy family residence on Blake Street, bequeathed to Gerard Brakenridge Strathy. This house had seen a lot in its time, especially when bank manager John Alexander Strathy (1849-1896) was shot and killed at Ovenden by local citizen Michael Brennan in February 1896.

Elgood, Ingram, and Shopoff rented Ovenden from G.B. Strathy between 1915 and 1920 before officially purchasing the building for $10,000 in April 1921. The former home served as the “Main House” or “First House” of Ovenden College, while the nearby “Second House,” acquired ca. 1929, functioned as the Junior House for younger students. An average of 50 students were enrolled per year between the two houses, with decreased numbers during the war years and the 1930s.

Both boys and girls between the ages of 4 to 10 could attend Ovenden College as day students, while girls ages 10 to 18 had the option to live at Ovenden College during the school year. Each school year had three terms, starting with the Autumn Term on September 16 until December 25. The Easter Term ran from January 1 to mid-March, and the Summer Term occurred from the end of March to the middle of June.

​​​​Education

In a promotional pamphlet from ca. 1915, Ovenden College is described as a “substitute for a good, continental school [with] great attention being paid to Languages, Music and Singing” (p. 4, 1981-055). The pamphlet also states that the school prepared students for university by encouraging “the development of the girls on simple, healthy lines, both physically and mentally” (p. 5, 1981-055). Advanced courses were offered in scripture, ancient and European history, art history, geography, and literature. Lessons in German and French were also offered.

Ovenden College had two mottos symbolising its values. “We work not for School, but for Life. We toil not for Time but for Eternity.” As described in the first edition of the school’s magazine, “The ‘Ovenden’ Chronicle” from 1916, this motto represents how students “should lay stress on the things that really matter; honest effort, sympathy, honour, right judgement, perseverance, [and] courage” (p. 2). The motto featured on the school’s emblem, “Suaviter in Modo, Fortiter in Re” means “Gentle in Manner, Strong in Action,” and acted as a code of personal conduct for students (“Ovenden” Chronicle, 1917, p. 7-8).​

​Cost

As an upper-class institution, the fees required to attend Ovenden College would have been out of reach for some local students. In 1915, enrolling as a day student cost $10.00-$35.00 per term, depending on the student’s age, and $0.30 a day for dinner. To understand how much Ovenden College would have cost today, the maximum fee as a day student would have been about $1325.00 per term, adjusted for inflation in 2023 as per the Bank of Canada’s Inflation Calculator.

To board at Ovenden College, the entrance fee was a one-term fee of $12.00 and a resident fee of $134.00 per term. The resident fee covered board, residence, general tuition, and a small amount of extra-curricular activities. With three terms, the average Ovenden College attendance fee for one year was about $414.00, not including additional fees for music lessons or specialized courses. To put things into perspective, the annual attendance fee as a boarding student would have been about $10,500 in 2023.

Educators

Ovenden College was managed by Elgood, Ingram, and Shopoff before more educators joined the staff. These women were active members of their local community. Shopoff, often referred to as Mademoiselle by students, was a member and former president of the Barrie Women’s Canadian Club and served as co-director of the East Anglican Mission. Elgood was a member of the Barrie Women’s Canadian Club, the Girl Guides, and the Victorian Order of Nurses.

Other long-term educators at Ovenden College include Florence Biltcliffe, who taught music since 1930, and Rosalind Mackenzie who was the riding instructor from 1932 until the school closed. Elsie Raikes attended Ovenden College and was head girl in 1918 before returning as the History and Latin teacher from 1933 until 1950.

Michael the Dog

Michael John Ovenden was one of the pet dogs at Ovenden College. Referred to as “everybody’s pet” in the 1929 “Ovenden” Chronicle, Michael was half-German Shepard and half-Border Collie. Given to the school by Elsie Raikes in 1926, he was frequently mentioned in the “Ovenden” Chronicle through humorous stories and poems, often written from “Michael’s” point-of-view. Michael lived for thirteen years before passing in the fall of 1939, clearly beloved by many Ovenden students.

​​​Extra-Curricular Activities

With over four acres of land, Ovenden College had tennis and basketball courts, an orchard, a large garden, gymnasium and playing fields to support its diverse offering of physical activities. During the summer, students would form teams for badminton, basketball, tennis, and golf, as well as ride horses. During the winter, students would join the hockey, skating, skiing, snowshoeing, and tobogganing teams. There were also several student clubs, such as a glee club, debate club, music club, French club, camera club, and field club. Students performed plays and gymnastic routines. An annual Halloween party was held and often featured costumes and theatrical performances.

The Work Club, or Sewing Club, began during World War I to supply sewn shirts, pajamas, and knitted socks to frontline hospitals as well as French and Belgian orphaned children. Caps, bags, and aprons created by students were sold to raise funds for injured soldiers. Care packages of homemade stockings filled with chocolate, cigarettes, books, and puzzles were supplied to English war hospitals.

The museum at Ovenden College managed an extensive collection of natural history specimens. Annual lectures were organized as fundraisers. Notable Canadian artist Lawren Harris from the Group of Seven visited Ovenden College in October 1917 to discuss how “art was the expression of each individual mind” (“Ovenden” Chronicle, 1918, p. 4).

Speech Day was an event held at the end of the summer school term in June. Typically, there would be speeches by Elgood and invited guests, followed by a performance from the school choir or dance club, and prizes awarded for student accomplishments during the year.

The “Ovenden” Chronicle​

The “Ovenden” Chronicle was an annual magazine summarizing the events of the school year. They contain details of club activities, sports matches, as well as photographs, poetry, and drawings submitted by students. Examination results were also published in the Chronicle, alongside relevant personal and professional updates about alumni, referred to as “Old Girls.” The Simcoe County Archives has 34 volumes of the Chronicle from 1916-1945, and 1947-1950.

Closure

In 1950, founders Elgood, Ingram, and Shopoff announced their retirement. The school grounds were placed on sale for about $100,000. With no buyer emerging, the school closed in June 1950 after its final Speech Day. Elgood and Ingram returned to England, while Shopoff remained in Barrie. An advertisement from December 21, 1950 in the Barrie Examiner reveals that Ovenden College was remodelled into an apartment building. The Main and Junior Houses of Ovenden College were eventually demolished.

For 36 years and through two World Wars, Ovenden College educated students academically, artistically, and culturally through its commitment to diverse learning strategies. Gertrude Rhoda Jarvis (née Bird), head girl in 1917-1918, wrote in the final​​”Ovenden” Chronicle from 1950 that “if we can preserve that teaching, and guard it in the face of inertia and self-seeking, and hand it on intact to the next generation, then we contribute something to the future of Canada, and Miss Elgood, Miss Ingram, and Mlle [Shopoff] will have worked ‘not for Time, but for Eternity'” (p. 37).

Works Consulted

• Abstract/Parcel Register Book, Simcoe (51), Book 419, Plan 6; South Side Blake Street. Ontario Land Registry Access. https://www.onland.ca.
• The Barrie Examiner
  • 20 February 1896, vol. 33, no. 8
  • 22 July 1915, no. 29
  • 23 June 1949, no. 43
  • 21 July 1949, no. 50
  • 24 April 1950, no. 31
  • 11 May 1950, no. 36
  • 25 May 1950, no. 40
  • 6 Feb 1957, no. 16
  • 2 September 1961, no. 205
  • 2 Jan 1974, no. 1
  • 12 January 1978, no. 9
  • 28 April 1978, no. 99
• [Entrance booklet to Ovenden College], ca. 1915.1981-055. Simcoe County Archives, Minesing, Ontario.
• [Introductory booklet to Ovenden College], 1931. 2021-001. Simcoe County Archives, Minesing, Ontario.
• Library and Archives Canada. Sixth Census of Canada, 1921. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2013. Series RG31. Statistics Canada Fonds
• [Photograph of Ovenden College girls’ hockey team], 1927. 1998-024. Simcoe County Archives, Minesing, Ontario.
• [Photograph of Ovenden College staff and Michael the dog on the veranda], ca. 1930. 1979-071. Simcoe County Archives, Minesing, Ontario.
• [Photograph of Ovenden], ca. 1915. 1985-066, Morton family collection. Simcoe County Archives, Minesing, Ontario.
• Tax Assessment and Collector’s Roll, Barrie, 1916. 2000-074. Simcoe County Archives, Minesing, Ontario.
• The “Ovenden” Chronicle, 1916-1918, 1926-1928, 1931-1932, 1936, 1940, 1950. 1981-055. Simcoe County Archives, Minesing, Ontario.​