Bedford House, St Mary’s Street, Ely

Bedford House, Girls Secondary School, 28 St Mary’s Street, Ely

History of 28 St Mary's Street

Listed Building

A large C18 yellow gault brick house with a good wood modillion eaves cornice, 3 storeys and cellars.

Headquarters of the Bedford Level Corporation 1844-1864, responsible for fenland drainage. The arms of the corporation is above the door, showing a man with a spade and another with a scythe with the motto ARRIDET ARRIDUM – ‘Dryness Pleases.’

This was the home of Ely High School for Girls from 1905 – 1957.

Gladys Woolnough recalls in Ely Memories watching the conversion of the private house into the school. Then in May 1905: a group of about thirty girls, wearing straw boaters and gloves could have been seen standing outside Bedford House, waiting for the door to open for them to be admitted….

Mallyan Thompson attended the school. She recalls in Ely Memories going to the kindergarten at Bedford House in 1910 until she went away to school at Ipswich. But because of the zeppelin raids there she came back to Ely to go to school. She remembers the children with her at the kindergarten including the Cutlack who went to found the ironmongery business.

Dulcie Chapman’s reminiscences about the school during WWII can be found in Ely Memories.

Gwen Clarke (née Stevens) recalls in Ely Memories the journeys she made when attending Bedford House 1922 – 1929.