Bedford College, London
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first
higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...
college for women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a leading role in the advancement of women in higher education and public life in general, it became fully coeducational (i.e. open to men) in the 1960s. In 1985, Bedford College merged with
Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
, another constituent of the University of London, to form Royal Holloway and Bedford New College. This remains the official name, but it is commonly called Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL).


History


Foundation

The college was founded by
Elizabeth Jesser Reid Elizabeth Jesser Reid (; 25 December 1789 – 1 April 1866) was an English social reformer, anti-slavery activist and philanthropist. She is best remembered as the founder of Bedford College. Biography Early life Elisabeth Jesser Sturch was b ...
(''née'' Sturch) in 1849, a social reformer and anti-slavery activist, who had been left a private income by her late husband, Dr John Reid, which she used to patronise various philanthropic causes. Mrs Reid and her circle of well-educated friends believed firmly in the need to improve education for women. She leased a house at 47 Bedford Square in the Bloomsbury area of London and opened the Ladies College in Bedford Square. The intention was to provide a liberal, non-sectarian education for women, something no other institution in the United Kingdom provided at the time. Reid placed £1,500 (
GBP Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...
) with three male trustees and persuaded a number of her friends to serve on the management committees and act as teaching professors. In their first term they had 68 pupils. Initially the governance of the College was in the hands of the Ladies Committee (comprising some influential women) and the General Committee made up of the Ladies, the professors of the college and three trustees. It was the first British institution partly directed by women. The General Committee (later the Council) soon took over the running of the College, while the Ladies Committee directed the work of the Lady Visitors, who were responsible for the welfare and discipline of the students, and acted as their chaperones. Initially the professors were shocked by the generally low educational standards of the women entering the college, who in most cases had only home-based governess education. In response, Reid founded Bedford College School close to the college in 1853, in an attempt to provide a better standard of entrants. In 1860, the college expanded into 48 Bedford Square, which enabled it to become a residential establishment. "The Residence" was in the charge of a matron, who introduced the practice of students help to run the house and keep their own accounts.


Succession

Elizabeth Reid died in 1866 and left a trust fund and the leases of the college's buildings in the hands of three female trustees
Eliza Bostock Elizabeth Anne "Eliza" Bostock (1817 – 13 April 1898) was a British promoter of women's education. She became a trustee at Bedford College after attending lessons there herself. At the time Bedford College was one of the few places where women ...
, Jane Martineau and Eleanor Smith. The three of them were concerned that Bedford College School was to become Anglican under the head, Francis Martin. They closed the school although the idea went on without the trustees support as the Gower Street School being led, in time, by Lucy Harrison in 1875. The trustees insisted on a new constitution (as the college had no legal charter at the time). The Council was replaced by a Committee of Management and the college reconstituted as an Association under the Board of Trade and officially became known as Bedford College. In 1874, the Bedford Square lease expired and the college moved to 8 and 9 York Place, off Baker Street.
Eliza Bostock Elizabeth Anne "Eliza" Bostock (1817 – 13 April 1898) was a British promoter of women's education. She became a trustee at Bedford College after attending lessons there herself. At the time Bedford College was one of the few places where women ...
was still a trustee but many looked to her as honorary Principal and with her knowledge of building and architecture she organised the college's move to York place. The two houses, 8 and 9, acted as one, with the college using the downstairs rooms and the upstairs being the Residence. As numbers began to rise, the college expanded by adding extensions to house science laboratories. In the late 1870s, an entrance examination was introduced and a preparatory department set up for those who did not meet the standards required for college-level entry.


Women with degrees

In 1878, degree examinations of the University of London were opened to women. Bedford College students began gaining University of London
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
,
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
and
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
s from the early 1880s. In 1900, when the University of London became a teaching university (where it had previously been only a degree-awarding body), Bedford College became one of its constituent colleges. It applied to the Privy Council for a
Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...
to take the place of its Deed of Incorporation. Royal Assent for the new chartered body was received in 1909, and the College became officially recognised as Bedford College for Women. Continued growth led to a search for new premises, leading to the purchase of the lease on a site at Regent's Park in 1908. A major fund-raising effort was undertaken to provide it with modern amenities. The purpose-built buildings were designed by the architect Basil Champneys and officially opened by Queen Mary in 1913. The buildings continued to be extended and rebuilt throughout the 70 years that the college spent at Regent's Park, especially after extensive damage from wartime bombing. The college colours were green and grey, said to be those of
Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the R ...
. Purple was added in 1938 to represent the university; the resulting colours were, by chance or design, similar to those of women's
suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
in the United Kingdom. A permanent record of the pictorial history of the college was made following the final reunion of former students and the collection and cataloguing of the archives in 1985. Bedford firsts include: *First women to run a British institution. *First Social Sciences department in the UK, established 1918 *First woman to hold a chair in philosophy in the UK, Susan Stebbing. *One of the first two women Fellows of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
*Fourth woman chairman of the Trades Union Congress (TUC),
Marie Patterson Constance Marie Patterson (1 April 1934 – 27 November 2021) was a British trade unionist. Patterson attended Pendleton High School, Salford, and Bedford College, London, before becoming active in the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGW ...
*The first art school in England where women could draw from life After a brief period of admitting a small number of male
postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...
students, the college became fully coeducational when 47 men passed through clearing in 1965, and the name reverted to Bedford College. In the early 1980s, Bedford College had approximately 1,700 students and 200 academic staff based in 20 departments.


Merger with Royal Holloway

In 1985, Bedford College merged with
Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
, another college of the University of London which, like Bedford College, had been a college for women only when it was first founded. The merged institution took Royal Holloway College's premises in Egham,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
, just outside London, as its main campus and took on the name of Royal Holloway and Bedford New College (RHBNC). The decision to drop the Bedford name from day-to-day use caused some discontent among graduates of Bedford College, who felt that their old college had now essentially been taken over by Royal Holloway, and that Bedford College's name and history as a pioneering institution in the field of women's education were being forgotten. To give more prominence to the Bedford name, the merged college named a large, newly built library in the centre of its campus the "Bedford Library". Relations between RHUL and some of the Bedford College alumni remain somewhat strained, but many other Bedford College alumni maintain links with RHUL, supporting alumni events and other college work. Bedford College's old premises in Regent's Park is now the home of Regent's University London.


Notable alumni

* Rosetta Delisle, Social Worker * Louise Doris Adams (died 1965), president of the Mathematical Association *
Mary Bridges-Adams Mary Jane Bridges-Adams (''née'' Daltry; 19 October 1854 – 14 January 1939) was a British educationalist, socialist, and activist. She campaigned for free, compulsory, secular education for all and for free school meals. Early life and educat ...
(1854–1939), English educationalist * Shahidul Alam (born 1955), Bangladeshi photographer, writer and curator *
Chris Aldridge Chris Aldridge is a continuity announcer and newsreader for BBC Radio 4. Biography He grew up in Horsham, West Sussex. After one term studying medicine at London Hospital Medical College, Aldridge studied mathematics at Bedford College (Unive ...
, English
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...
newsreader * Ajahn Amaro (born 1956), Theravadin Buddhist monk, and abbot of the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery * Catherine Ashton (born 1956), High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
) * Janet Backhouse (1938–2004), English expert on illuminated manuscripts * David Bellamy (1933–2019), English botanist and television presenter * Helen Caroline Bentwich (1892–1972), English social activist and politician * Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910), pioneer Anglo-American female physician *
Daphne Blundell Daphne Mary Blundell, (19 August 1916 – 24 May 2004) was a senior British naval officer, who served as Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service from 1970 to 1973. Early life and education Blundell was born on 19 August 1916. She was educat ...
(1916–2004), British naval officer * Joane Bowes, MBE (1911–1981), Biochemist D.Sc. for work in leather and collagen * Mary Brazier (1904–1995), American neuroscientist * Sophie Bryant (1850–1922), Anglo-Irish mathematician and feminist * Anne Buck (1910–2005), British cultural historian and curator of dress * Ada Buisson (1839–1866), English author and novelist * Margaret Busby, Gold Coast-born publisher and writer * Waveney Bushell, Guyanese-born educational psychologist * Dinah Craik (1826–1887), English novelist and poet *
Ilse Crawford Ilse Catherine Crawford (born 1962) is a British interior and furniture designer. Early life and education Crawford was born in London in 1962 to Jill Rendall and Malcom Crawford. Her father, Malcom, was the editor of '' The Sunday Times'' a ...
, English interior designer * Florence Nightingale David (1909–1993), English and American statistician *
Evelyn Denington, Baroness Denington Evelyn Joyce Denington, Baroness Denington DBE (née Bursill; 9 August 1907 – 22 August 1998) was a British politician. She served as chair of the Stevenage Development Corporation from 1966–80 and chair of the Greater London Council from 1 ...
(1907–1998), English politician * Peggy Duff (1910–1981), British political activist, organiser of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament * Edith Durham (1863–1944), English traveller, artist and writer * George Eliot (1819–1880), English novelist * Christopher Elrington (1930–2009), English historian * Susan E. Evans, English palaeontologist and herpetologist *
Penelope Farmer Penelope Jane Farmer (born 1939) is an English fiction writer well known for children's fantasy novels. Her best-known novel is '' Charlotte Sometimes'' (1969), a boarding-school story that features a multiple time slip. Life Farmer was born a f ...
(born 1939), English children's novelist * Mary Fels (1863-1953), German-born American philanthropist, suffragist, Georgist * Dame Janet Finch (born 1946), English Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Social Relations at Keele University 1995–2010 *
Norvela Forster Norvela Felicia Forster (25 July 1931 – 30 April 1993) was a United Kingdom businesswoman, exporter and politician. Education Born in Gillingham, Kent, Forster attended South Wilts Grammar School for Girls, Salisbury, and Bedford College, ...
(1931–1993), English businesswoman and politician *
Jane Gardam Jane Mary Gardam (born 11 July 1928) is an English writer of children's and adult fiction. She also writes reviews for ''The Spectator'' and ''The Telegraph'', and writes for BBC radio. She lives in Kent, Wimbledon, and Yorkshire. She has won nu ...
(born 1928), English novelist and children's writer *
Miriam Violet Griffith Miriam Violet Griffith (11 October 1911 - 9 May 1989) was an electrical engineer, technical author and an early user of ground source heat pumps. She was an expert in the area of heat pumps and was elected a fellow of the Institute of Physics. ...
(1911-1989) electrical engineer, technical author, expert in early heat pumps *
Jean Hanson Emmeline Jean Hanson (14 November 1919 – 10 August 1973) was a biophysicist and zoologist known for her contributions to muscle research. Hanson gained her PhD in zoology from Bedford College, University of London before spending the majorit ...
(1919–1973), English biophysicist and zoologist * Jean Henderson (1899–1997), English barrister and Liberal Party politician * Jean Hillier, English town and country planning professor *
Edith Humphrey Edith Ellen Humphrey (11 September 1875 – 25 February 1978) was a British inorganic chemist who carried out pioneering work in coordination chemistry, co-ordination chemistry at the University of Zurich under Alfred Werner. She is thought to ...
(1875–1978), English inorganic chemist *
Eva Ibbotson Eva Maria Charlotte Michelle Ibbotson (née Wiesner; born 21 January 1925 – 20 October 2010) was a British novelist born in Austria to a Jewish family who fled the Nazis. She is known for her children's literature. Some of her novels for adul ...
(née Wiesner, 1925–2010), Austro-English children's author * Alison Jaggar (born 1942), Anglo-American philosopher and feminist professor * Nick Kent (born 1951), English rock critic *
Dudley Knowles Dudley Knowles (; 1947, Lancashire – 26 October 2014) was a British political philosopher and professor at Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = ...
(1947–2014), English political philosopher and professor * Jean Langhorne, British biologist * Judith Ledeboer (1901–1990), Dutch-English architect * Alice Lee (1858–1939), English mathematician * Kathleen Lonsdale (1903–1971), Anglo-Irish crystallographer *
Adelaide Manning Elizabeth Adelaide Manning (1828 – 10 August 1905) was a British writer and editor. She championed kindergartens. She was one of the first students to attend Girton College. Manning was active for the National Indian Association which champ ...
(1828–1905), writer and editor * Angela Mason (born 1944), English civil servant and gay activist *
Gerda Mayer Gerda Kamilla Mayer (9 June 1927 – 15 July 2021) was an English poet born to a Jewish family in Karlsbad, Czechoslovakia. She escaped to England from Prague in 1939, aged eleven, on a Kindertransport flight organised by Trevor Chadwick. Hav ...
(born 1927), English poet born in Czechoslovakia * John Moloney, English comedian and writer * Delyth Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Drefelin (born 1961), English crossbench peer in the House of Lords *
Jeremy Northam Jeremy Philip Northam (born 1 December 1961) is an English actor and singer. After a number of television roles, he earned attention as Mr. Knightley in the 1996 film adaptation of Jane Austen's '' Emma''. He has appeared in the films '' An Ide ...
(born 1961), English actorRoyal Holloway, University of London
''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', 27 July 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
* Nicholas O'Shaughnessy, English communications professor * Ursula Owen (born 1937), English publisher and campaigner for free expression * Margaret Partridge (1891–1967), electrical engineer, contractor, founder member of the Women's Engineering Society and the Electrical Association for Women *
Delphine Parrott Delphine Mary Vera Parrott Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (2 May 1928 – 17 January 2016) was a British endocrinologist, immunologist, and academic. She did research at the National Institute for Medical Research in the 1950s and the Imperia ...
(1928–2016), English endocrinologist and immunologist *
Marie Patterson Constance Marie Patterson (1 April 1934 – 27 November 2021) was a British trade unionist. Patterson attended Pendleton High School, Salford, and Bedford College, London, before becoming active in the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGW ...
(born 1934), English trade unionist * Edith Helen Paull (1902–1975), Indian nursing matron * Kate Perugini (1839–1929), English painter and daughter of
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
* Rosalind Pitt-Rivers FRS (1907–1990), English biochemist *
Jenny Randerson, Baroness Randerson Jennifer Elizabeth Randerson, Baroness Randerson (born 26 May 1948) is a Welsh Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. She is former junior minister in the Wales Office serving in the Cameron–Clegg coalition. Prior to her peerage she ...
(born 1948), Welsh Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords * Winifred Raphael (1898–1978), English occupational psychologist * Hazel Alden Reason (1901–1976), English chemist and science writer * Sarah Remond (1826–1894), African-American abolitionist, one of the few African-American women to speak publicly about abolishing slavery in America during the 1800s."Pioneering women"
Royal Holloway University of London.
*
Jean Rook Jean Kathleen Rook (13 November 1931 – 5 September 1991) was an English journalist dubbed ''The First Lady of Fleet Street'' for her regular opinion column in the ''Daily Express''. She was also, along with Lynda Lee-Potter, a model for th ...
(1931–1991), English journalist * Andrew Cunningham Scott (born 1952), English geologist and professor *
Joe Saward Jonathan Mark Christopher "Joe" Saward (born 14 July 1961 in London) is a British Formula One journalist. Life and career Saward was educated at Haileybury College and attained a degree in history at Bedford College, University of London. In 1 ...
(born 1961), English motor-sports journalist * Athene Seyler (1889–1990), English actress and a President of RADA *
Miranda Seymour Miranda Jane Seymour (born 8 August 1948) is an English literary critic, novelist and biographer. The lives she has described have included those of Robert Graves and Mary Shelley. Seymour, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, has in re ...
(born 1948), English critic, novelist and biographer * Jacqueline Simpson (born 1930), English researcher and writer on folklore * Audrey Smith (1915–1981), English cryobiologist * Roger Steare (born 1958), English ethicist and corporate philosopher * Simon Thurley (born 1962), English architectural historian *
Mavis Tiller Mavis Ada Tiller (; 25 November 1901 – 25 July 1989) was a New Zealand women's advocate, scientist and president of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) from 1966 to 1970. Early life and career Tiller was born in Wellingto ...
(1901–1989), New Zealand women's advocate, scientist and president of the
National Council of Women of New Zealand , logo = National Council of Women of New Zealand logo.png , logo_size = 100px , logo_alt = , logo_caption = , image = , image_size = , alt = , capt ...
from 1966 to 1970 * Mary Treadgold (1910–2005), English novelist and children's writer * Fred Trethewey (born 1949), Anglican priest and Archdeacon of Dudley * Margaret Tuke (1862–1847), English academic and educator *
Sarah Tyacke Sarah Jacqueline Tyacke, (''née'' Jeacock; born 29 September 1945) is an English historian of cartography and travel and a former librarian and archivist. From 1991 to 2005 she served as Keeper of Public Records and Chief Executive of the UK P ...
(born 1945), English historian of cartography * Valerie Vaz (born 1954), current Labour MP for Walsall South (UK Parliament constituency) *
Amanda Vickery Amanda Jane Vickery (born 8 December 1962) is an English historian, writer, radio and television presenter, and professor of early modern history at Queen Mary, University of London. Education and career Vickery was born in Preston, Lancashi ...
(born 1962), English historian and broadcaster * Diana Warwick, Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (born 1945), Labour member of the House of Lords * Evelyn Whitaker (1844–1929), English children's writer * Alex Wilkie (born 1948), English mathematician * Elizabeth Williams (1895–1986), English mathematician and educationist * Katharine Worth (1922–2015), English drama professor * Margaret Wright (1940–2012), British
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
politician *
Florence Yeldham Florence Annie Yeldham (30 October 1877 – 10 January 1945) was a British school teacher and historian of arithmetic. She supported the idea of following the history of mathematics as a motive to teach arithmetic. Early life and education Fl ...
(1877–1945), English school teacher and historian of arithmetic * Alice Zimmern (1855–1939), English translator and suffragist


Principals

*
Elizabeth Jesser Reid Elizabeth Jesser Reid (; 25 December 1789 – 1 April 1866) was an English social reformer, anti-slavery activist and philanthropist. She is best remembered as the founder of Bedford College. Biography Early life Elisabeth Jesser Sturch was b ...
, Founder (1849–1864) then run by trustees until first principal appointed * Dame Emily Penrose, First principal (1893–1898) also Royal Holloway (1898–1907) * Ethel Hurlbatt (1898–1906) *
Dame Margaret Jansen Tuke Dame Margaret Janson Tuke (13 March 1862, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England21 February 1947, Hitchin) was a British academic and educator. She was the youngest child of the philanthropist James Hack Tuke. She was created a Dame Commander of the Ord ...
(1907–1929) * Geraldine Emma May Jebb CBE (1930–1951) * Norah Lillian Penston (1951–1964) * Elizabeth Millicent Chilver (1964–1971), later Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford * John Nicholson Black (1971–1981) *