Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls was founded in 1892, moving to the present site in 1897.  During the intervening years many thousands of girls have benefited from HMSG’s mission, ‘to provide the finest education possible, .... [enabling girls] to develop intellectually, emotionally, physically and spiritually. .... to grow in tolerance and compassion, to gain self-confidence and independence and thus be ready for adulthood.’

As these young women make their way in the world as self-confident adults many choose to keep in touch with the school, sharing their news and achievements.

The school archive holds a wealth of historical information regarding the past century at HMSG.  Some of this has been published in various books.  As time permits we hope to make more of it available via this web site.

School Photographs

We have copies of every school photograph back to 1927, and many previous to that.

Do you remember the archery contest held as part of the celebrations for the school's jubilee?  For more pictures from jubilee year, 1947, see below.

Featured year: 1947

1947 was jubilee year for MSG, celebrating 50 years on this site.  The school magazine from that year tells how Headmistress Agnes McDonald tried to make this as merry a celebration as was possible given the post-war austerity.  Costumes for the Mediaeval Fair were 'colourful and attractive..... in spite of the restrictions coupons impose'.

Miss McDonald gave a jubilee gift to the school of an all-day picnic to Malvern.

Buses to the Malvern picnic. (Photo: MCR)

Then, as now, MSG was showing a lead in the opportunities offered to pupils.  No sooner had the war ended than twenty-five girls were on a trip to Utrecht, Netherlands (August 1946), and soon after that a visit to Paris.

ON DUSK NIGHT is but a shadow, day is but a glance, But, in between the two of them, what ghostly creatures dance! The trees with hazy outline are all prepared for night, The flowers amidst this darkness have lost their texture bright. The birds have ceased to twitter and owls begin to hoot, Their eerie screech resounding like a mournful lover's lute. the shapes are greatly altered - a bush seems like a bear, A simple harmless hedgerow looks like some creature rare. But all these ghostly feelings are due to dusk alone, For never in the daytime do you dim ghosties roam. Josephine B, Upper V(ii)

Winter that year was hard, snow followed by floods.  Apparently some day girls made part of their journey to school by rowing boat!  A lifeboat was brought in from Cardiff to rescue marooned families. Monnow Street Photo: Sonia B, Upper IV(i)