The Mulberry Bush Organisation Archive

Records of the Mulberry Bush Organisation, including:

Mulberry Bush School papers: Pupil files, log books, educational material, photographs, artwork, and other media.
Minutes of board meetings.
Collaboration and outreach to external organisations.
Fundraising material and correspondence.
Research conducted by and with co-operation from the Mulberry Bush Organisation.
Oral histories recorded by past members of the organisation.
Please be aware that this collection contains some highly sensitive material, particularly within the School records

MIXED

During the Second World War, Barbara Dockar-Drysdale and her husband Stephen had looked after evacuees from London at a property in Radley, Oxfordshire, who had proved difficult to look after in host families due to emotional and behavioural issues. Following the war, Dockar-Drysdale was approached by the Home Office and Ministry of Education in order to look after similar children on a more formal basis. As such, the Mulberry Bush School was founded in 1948, taking in children by referral from their local authority.

In order to house the newly-formed school, Longworth House, a farmhouse in Standlake, was purchased with money from the Dockar-Drysdale family. 13 children and several staff moved to the new site later in 1948. The next year, the school had expanded to include 30 pupils. Children at the school were looked after by a small number of staff, including therapists and psychiatric social workers. "Mrs D" herself, and her husband, were both involved in the care of pupils in this early period, as, to an extent, were their own children.

In 1954, the Mulberry Bush School was incorporated as a company, managed by a board chaired by Mr. F.B. Levetus. Barbara Dockar-Drysdale stepped down as Principal in 1962, to be replaced by John Armstrong.

In the [1980s], Longworth House was demolished, to be replaced by a new building. Children were to sleep in four dormitories, each accessed by a separate set of colour-coded stairs. This system was again replaced in [the early 2000s], when pupils were divided into four groups (for whom separate houses were constructed): Intake (later Jigsaw), Rainbow, Sunset, and 4th Group (later Pegasus). A fifth house, The Burrow, was constructed in [year]. In 2023, it was set aside for the use of pupils on 52-week (i.e. year-round) placements.

In 2008, the charity changed its name to the Mulberry Bush Organisation to encompass the charity and the training and consultancy department as well as the school