An exciting new display has just been unveiled at the Museum as part of our Community Showcase Display Programme.
The display, curated by former pupils Councillor Louise Mead and her daughter Daisy-Mae, tells the history of Braeside School for Girls in Buckhurst Hill. After twelve children returned from the evacuation scheme in 1943, their parents were eager for them to have stability, education and hope for the future. In response, Marjory “Molly” Wakefield, a Quaker and a firm believer in the importance of education, rented two rooms in Palmerston Road to teach these children. Then, in 1944, moved to Braeside House at 103 Palmerston Road.
By 1948, demand to join the school was so high that Miss Wakefield purchased Hill House in Palmerston Road, which would later become the Junior School, followed by the lease of Ellerslie House on 130 High Road, Buckhurst Hill in 1950, which would later become the senior site.
Through the expansion of the school, Miss Wakefield’s guiding principle of: “Semper Perseverans” (Always Persevere) remained a strong motto for the girls that attended Braeside, becoming the spirit of the school itself. Teaching generations of girls from 4 to 16, the small school fostered close relationships, and its traditions created lasting memories.
In 2015, Braeside was taken over by Oak Tree Group and became co-educational, but the school sadly closed its doors ten years later in July 2025.
The display shows a variety of uniform owned and worn by former Braeside students, as well as newspaper clippings, documents, photographs and a copy of the Braeside book (A School, Two Houses and Perseverance: A History of Braeside School, Its Founder and Buildings) by Frances Francis, a former teacher and director of Braeside School.
The display will be available to view until 13th August 2026 and can be seen in the Core Gallery on the Second Floor.
