The surroundings were gorgeous. Great views - you could see why it was a strategic position - pity the Saxons didn't stay on the hill. We weren't allowed down to the actual abbey ruins, though.
Battle Abbey in Sussex. It has changed a lot since my time but, back then, it was sort of half posh. There was Roedean, along the coast, which was proper posh. Then there were several small girls boarding schools with aspirations. Ours was a sort of wife factory for the upper middle classes. The academic expectations were low, being good at games wasn't required. I was a misfit - we didn't have much of a social life at home and I was quite bright and really interested in learning. These days, it's co-ed with day pupils and they get to do interesting stuff.
It was a mildly posh school. We were taught a little light cooking but the idea was more that a woman's place was as a wife with polished manners and good dress sense who knew how to arrange flowers, lay a complicated dinner table and maybe get by in French. I never managed any of that.. except the French.
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