The Beresford Building - this was previously known as the Admin Block. The rebuild and restructure at Brighton Girls has provided the opportunity to commemorate Elisabeth Beresford - one of our very own alumna.
Elisabeth Beresford invented the characters of the WOMBLES of WIMBLEDON COMMON. And these wonderfully comic, warm characters definitely brought to life the idea of care for the environment. Their life’s work was to clear up the rubbish and mess humans so thoughtlessly leave behind. Elisabeth Beresford used these fantastic characters and their stories to pioneer recycling and environmental awareness. They have sprung to life from her books and star in cartoons, TV programmes and films
GRACE EYRE HOUSE
This is named in honour of an alumna from our earliest years - from the nineteenth century in fact.
Grace Eyre Woodhead was a social care pioneer educated at Brighton and Hove High School and her work really took off in 1898. It all began when children with learning disabilities from London slums were placed in holiday homes in East Sussex. She was determined to fight poverty and inequality and campaigned to build more inclusive communities for everyone to enjoy.
This eventually grew into a service that placed children permanently with families. The service was regulated and supervised by visiting officers and in 1913 the Guardianship Society was formed.
One year later, a day centre that offered industrial training was opened in Brighton. It was the first of its kind in the country.
Her name and work inspired THE GRACE EYRE CHARITY which you may have seen on the Old Shoreham Road. Find out more here: https://www.grace-eyre.org/ Grace Eyre is a charity for adults aged 16+ with learning disabilities in Brighton & Hove. They are one of the oldest and most innovative charities in the UK committed to supporting people with learning disabilities, autism and/or mental health issues.
THE TEMPLE
This is the name Thomas Read Kemp gave his family home - now the centre of our school. The Temple was completed in 1819 and we celebrated its bicentenary in 2019. It's full name is The Temple of Peace - a great name to live up to! However, the columns on the outside of the building are shaped like canon - perhaps to celebrate a great military victory, like Waterloo in 1815. The dimensions of the building are said to replicate the Temple of Solomon from the Bible.
However, there was some gossip that Thomas Read Kemp named it to compete with the Vicarage - built by the Reverend Wagner, once his great friend.
Look out for the wonderful lions on the pillars all around the Senior School site. They played their part in our bicentenary fun too!