A History of Queenswood

Since 1894, Queenswood has been providing truly progressive education to generations of young women.

You can get an overview the School’s history and heritage by exploring our interactive timeline below. For more in-depth information, we recommend this article by Queenswood’s former archivist, Dr Wendy Bird, and the book In Hortis Reginæ by Nigel Watson.

Timeline

1843 Governesses' Benevolent Association founded, marking a turning-point in the development of women's education.
1864 John Ruskin delivers his lecture 'Of Queens' Gardens'.
1865 Cambridge University local examinations opened to girls.
1869 Oxford University local examinations opened to girls.
Educational Home for the Daughters of Wesleyan Ministers, later transferred to Clapham and renamed Queenswood, opens in Clapton.
1893 The original Queenswood closes.
1894 Queenswood opens on 23 September with Miss Marion Waller as Headmistress.
1897 Miss Waller resigns and Miss Ethel Mary Trew is appointed Headmistress.
1900 Lawsuit fails to prevent Queenswood girls from practising music.
1902 Girls taken to see Edward VIl's Coronation Procession
1903 Queenswood recognised as a secondary school under the terms of the 1902 Education Act.
1913 First Old Queenswoodian enters Cambridge.
1917 School Certificate introduced. Queenswood evacuated to Swanwick on 19 October due to threat of bombing.
1918 Staff Nurse Evelyn Johnson OQ awarded Military Medal. First Old Queenswoodian enters Oxford. Queenswood returns to Clapham.
1920 Ernest Read appointed music director.
1924 Sir Josiah Stamp joins board of governors.
1925 Queenswood moves from Clapham to Hatfield.
1926 Queenswood's new premises officially opened 15 June. Harold Bellman joins board of governors. Sanatorium built. First visit abroad by a party of girls who travel to France.
1927 Chapel built.
1929 Enid Essame joins staff.
1930 Senior House and gymnasium built.
1931 House system introduced.
1932 Preparatory department opened at Mymwood. Dr Marguerite Kettle becomes first OQ to join board of governors.
1933 Swimming-bath built.
1934 Staff House built. Ruth Schofield becomes the first OQ to be called to the Bar.
1935 Stamp House built. First edition of Queenswoodian published.
1936 The Great Fire occurs on 20 February.

Pathé news report on the fire at Queenswood, 1936

1938 Queen Mary visits the school.
1939 Second World War starts.
1940 First air raid over Queenswood. First one-thousand-pound bomb to be dropped over England lands on Queenswood's hockey field in October. Queenswood adopts two British minesweepers.
1941 Lord Stamp killed in air raid.
1942 Girls' Training Corps established (disbanded 1945).
1943 Miss Essame becomes headmistress but Miss Trew remains as Principal. The Council for World Citizenship holds World Conference at Queenswood.
1944 The Butler Education Act sets the pattern for state education in the post-war period. Miss Trew retires.

Silver Jubilee Celebrations. The fiftieth anniversary of Queenswood's Foundation was delayed until 1946 due to the Second World War.

1946 Queenswood wins Aberdare Cup for tennis for first time.

Garden Party at Queenswood, 1948. Including footage of legendary Director of Music Ernest Read and a medieval pageant on Trew Lawn.

Rare colour footage of Queenswood's gardens on Commemoration Day (now known as Speech Day) 1948.

1949 Ernest Read Orchestral Course held at Queenswood for first time.

Life at Queenswood, 1949. Could this be the first official promotional film for Queenswood School? A mixture of monochrome and colour 16mm footage captures the daily routine.

16mm footage of Queenswood competing against Sutton High at Wimbledon in the final of the Aberdare Cup, 1949.

1955 Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother visits the school.

Her Majesty the Queen Mother at Queenswood, 1955.

1957 New science block and new Bellman Library opened.
1967 Essame Studios and Wates Pavilion opened.
1971 Miss Essame retires and Miss Ritchie succeeds her as headmistress. Palaestra (Sports Hall) opened.
1980 New sanatorium opened. Winifred Turner Scholarship started.
1981 Miss Ritchie resigns and is succeeded by Mrs Butler.
1982 Resident chaplain appointed for first time.
1984 Mymwood closed.
1985 Belling Centre and Sixth Form Centre opened. Sixteen all-weather surface tennis courts opened by Virginia Wade. School council elected at request of girls. Self-service cafeteria introduced.
1987 Eaves conversion completed.
1991 Audrey Butler Centre opened.
1992 Leach Centre opened.
1993 Queenswood hosts Methodist Synod.
1994 Centenary celebrations at the Barbican.

Centenary video, 1994

1996 Ms Clarissa Farr replaces Mrs Butler as Principal.
2002 Bellman Library is renovated and opened by the Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion.
2004 New swimming pool opens.
2006 The Clarissa Farr Theatre is opened by actress Helen McCrory OQ. Mrs Pauline Edgar replaces Ms Farr as Principal.
2009 Haute Quisine Cookery Suite opened by chef Gary Rhodes OBE.
2011 Conversion of Stamp House to Lower School boarding accommodation.
2014 Ed Sautter MA is appointed Chair of Governors.
2014 120th anniversary celebrations at the Barbican.

This video celebrating 120 years of performance at Queenswood was produced for the Barbican gala performance, 2014

2016 Mrs Jo Cameron replaces Mrs Edgar as Principal.
2017 Bellman House becomes Sixth Form Centre. Library is transferred to the former Swimming Pool.
2018 The library is named The Pauline Edgar Library. The Queenswood Hall is completed. The four physical Houses are consolidated into one refurbished Middle School boarding facility, named Centre. The Personalised Learning Hub opens.
2019 James de Sausmarez BA FCIS is appointed Chair of Governors.
2020-21 The Covid-19 pandemic causes a series of national lockdowns. Queenswood rapidly becomes a pioneer of remote learning, and is awarded a Pearson National Teaching Award for Digital Education in 2021.