Eleanor Houston MA
31st March 1930 to 10th April 2026
It is with great sadness that I have to report the death of Eleanor Houston (affectionately known to the pupils as Ma) on the 10th April. Her health had not been good for a number of years and she had been looked after at home by her daughter Fiona and Simon her Son-In-Law.
Eleanor Houston (nee White) was born in the town of Ballyjamesduff in County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. She gained her teaching qualification at the Church of Ireland training School while simultaneously studying for a BA at Trinity College, Dublin, and then went on to study for her Master’s while working as a teacher in Dublin. It was the MA after her name on the timetable that gave rise to the nickname ‘Ma’ at Loughton School.
It was while Eleanor was at Trinity College that she met Meredith. They came to the United Kingdom in 1954 and married in 1955. Eleanor’s first teaching post was at Taney National School in Ireland. She taught at Beechgate Prep School in Luton, Lucton School in Loughton, and Woodford Green Preparatory School before joining Loughton School in 1957 to teach History and Geography.
During those lessons silence was obeyed and you could hear a pin drop. Some pupils remember her turning up for her first day on the back of Mr Houston’s motorbike, but immaculately dressed!
She set high standards in behaviour including insisting that all boys must shower immediately after the morning run around the grounds, before entering the classrooms.
Eleanor and Meredith were great believers in women’s equality and she was the main driving force in making the school co-educational in 1972. This involved extensive modernisation to the fabric of the school, but which they thought had to be done for the benefit of the students both socially and academically.
Eleanor’s funeral took place on 27th April 2026 at the Methodist Church in Loughton, the same church that Meredith’s service took place in 2025. They are united once again after 69 years of marriage.
To all Old Loughtonians – this is the end of an era – we should be indebted to these two remarkable people who helped shape and mould our lives for the future.
Malcolm Trowbridge
