During the war years the roll at Wrekin dropped below 300, but after 1945 soon began to increase. This surge in numbers meant the capacity in the houses was pushed to the limit and consequently a ‘Waiting House’ was created in Hillside opening In the Lent term of 1946 with George Drake in charge.

This waiting house could cater for up to 14 of the youngest boys until places became available in the six existing houses: Bayley, Norman, Saxon, Tudor, Windsor and York. Over the course of ten years the Waiting House sheltered a number of new joiners to Wrekin, only three of these did not progress to an existing house: Peter Coward, Charles Morris-Eyton and Philip Simpson. As a result, there are only three names on Mervyn’s School List that are listed under the heading of Hillside.

In 1951, George Drake became Housemaster of Tudor and Pip Needes took over as Housemaster of Hillside. This continued until 1956, when the Waiting House was no longer required. Instead the space was repurposed as the junior section of Norman House, which it continued to be until 1975.

In 1975, the first admission of girls at Wrekin led the sanatorium on Roslyn Road to be christened Clarkson House and the medical centre was rehomed in Hillside, where it remained until 2008. At this time the decision was taken to divide Lancaster House into Lancaster Boys and Lancaster Girls. The girls went to what had formerly been Clarkson House (a purpose-built space on the orchard which formed part of Bessie Corser’s garden in 1985), and the boys were housed in Hillside.