This house was named after Miss Frances Baines, Lady Warden of St Anne’s from 1907 – 1917.

 In 1926 it was decided to introduce the house system and the school was divided up into three ‘houses’ – Macrorie, Usherwood and Frances Baines – according to the dormitories in the main building. Frances Baines was housed in the former blue dormitory. The house system provided a basis for competition both on and off the sports field.

The first Housemistress was BWW Burnside and the Head of House was Lynette Dick.

When Mr Mortimer’s house, adjacent to St Anne’s, was purchased by the school in 1930, it became the new home of Frances Baines House and remained so for over 30 years until a new house was built in 1959.

The impact of both world wars affected school life and, during the second world war, one of the ways the girls were affected was by the arrival of evacuees. By 1943 there were girls in both the Prep and the College from England, Portugal, Palestine, Egypt, Greece, India and Kenya. Many of these girls were in FB.

In 1944-45 Frances Baines House had adopted two children in the East End of London, after reading in the press of Uncle Lofty’s scheme for naval families. Parcels of food were sent every month and every member of the House donated three shillings quarterly. Correspondence was carried on with these children and contact was maintained after the war was over. In 1941 a small new sanatorium wing was attached to Frances Baines House. On occasions, the members of FB House had to be moved out when an epidemic required extra San accommodation.

As FB was some distance away from the main building, the girls had to wait on Sundays for instructions on which outfit to wear. A kind of signal was hung out of the main building – a navy or white garment – to let FB House know.

At their 1947 meeting the Old Girls decided to erect a sundial in the Frances Baines garden in memory of Miss Jessie Jones, who had been housemistress there and had loved to work in the garden.

Frances Baines House was altered in 1951 to increase the number of beds from 29 – 34 and it was hoped to accommodate 40 girls there by 1952.

In 1950 a new FB House was completed and blessed by the Lord Bishop on 3 September.

During 1964 and 1965 the girls of St Anne’s took part in various fundraising activities to bring an American girl to St Anne’s for a year. FB raffled a tape recorder and a Wendy house.

An attractive portico was built at the front of FB House in 2000. 2004 marked a major upgrading of dormitories as well as the addition of a Boarder Mistress flat. All Sixth Formers are now housed in single rooms with study facilities, Fifth Formers in double rooms with study facilities and Fourth Formers are provided with a special study area with the House.