One of the stories we followed on our tours was that of William Phillips, the Priory’s factotum from 1905 to 1935. As factotum – from the Latin for ‘do all’ – William had overall responsibility for the Priory site, encompassing a diverse and comprehensive range of tasks. Carpentry, painting and decorating, plumbing and repair work all fell within his remit, along with a large variety of ad-hoc requests from the nuns and the school community, described in the 1930 edition of the school magazine Peeps of Princethorpe as ‘various minor items which are perhaps not big enough to chronicle but which would be quite big enough if we had to battle with them alone!’ 

In 1911, the census shows that William was living on the Coventry Road in Princethorpe with his wife Anastasia, three-year-old daughter Kathleen and one-year-old son Francis; the 1921 census gives their address as Priory Lodge, Princethorpe. The census also indicates that William was originally employed as an engineer for the laundry at the Priory, and that his role developed over time. In his role as factotum, William had more access than most staff to the various different parts of the Priory, since he needed to undertake work not only in the school and guest house, but also within the enclosed monastery which was usually restricted to the nuns alone; only a very small number of trusted staff would be allowed entry to this area. 

Of all his tasks across the Priory, William took particular satisfaction in his work for the school theatrical productions, outlined in Peeps of Princethorpe 1935. From building the scenery to arranging the lighting, and being on ‘curtain duty’ for the performances, he would proudly watch from behind the scenes as the schoolgirls took to the stage: ‘devoted to the young people in a way they perhaps hardly realised, all their interests were his, and he gloried in their successes’. 

As is the way in schools, however, there were often some slightly more unusual jobs to be carried out! From smoking out bats from above one of the dormitory windows (‘By bed-time every girl in the Top Dormitory could see thousands flying about’), to climbing on a newly-installed swing together with his assistant Michael (apparently a total of 22 stone) to safety test it for the junior schoolgirls, William was the go-to figure for problems big and small. Peeps of Princethorpe 1930 also expresses the schoolgirls’ gratitude for his ‘many other little unexpected “helps” such as securing the latest wireless scores of the Test Matches for us at once’! 

1.  2. 

William’s strong Catholic faith was central to his life, and the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels held a very special place in his heart. His obituary in Peeps of Princethorpe 1935 states that ‘[h]e made an invaluable Altar Server, his appearance on the Altar spoke faith and reverence, and his genuine keen interest in all our Church and Monastic Ceremonies, from the little child's first Communion, to the Final Profession of the Religious with the Archbishop presiding, to which he was wont to refer as "our big do," was most striking.’ William’s own daughter became a nun at Southam in 1934, just one year before his death.

3. 

William’s death at the age of just 55 came as a shock to the nuns and school community alike, but they took comfort in the fact that ‘[h]is was the good and upright life lived honestly in God's sight – leaving us with the happy assurance of [his] eternal well-being’. William lies buried in the parish cemetery at the Leamington Road end of the College drive, together with his wife Anastasia. His legacy lives on in the Priory buildings which he worked so hard to care for and maintain over the years. 

Images: 

Cover - William Phillips as altar server at the Silver Jubilee of the Chapel of Our Lady of Angels, 1926 (Peeps of Princethorpe 1927) 

1 - School Diary entry, Peeps of Princethorpe 1927 

2 - Little School Notes, Peeps of Princethorpe 1935 

3 - A vote of thanks to William, Peeps of Princethorpe 1930