Christine Mary Elizabeth Burrows (4 January 1872 – 10 September 1959) was a British academic administrator who the second Principal of

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College (full name = Principal and Council of St. Hilda's College, Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon saint Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a ...

, from 1910 to 1919 and the second Principal of

St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. ...

, from 1921 to 1929.

Early life

She was born in

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 201 ...

, Oxfordshire on 4 January 1872 and educated at

Cheltenham Ladies’ College Cheltenham Ladies' College (CLC) is a private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding and day school for girls aged 11 or older in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school was established in 1853 to provide "a sound academic edu ...

. The daughter of

Esther Elizabeth Burrows Esther Elizabeth Burrows (''née'' Bliss, 18 October 1847 – 20 February 1935) was a British academic administrator, the first principal of St Hilda's College, Oxford, from 1892 to 1910. She was born Esther Elizabeth Bliss on 18 October 1847 in Ch ...

and Henry Parker Burrows; her father, a businessman, died before she was born and her mother was the first principal of St Hilda's. She began studying history at

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The ...

but had to postpone her studies when her mother took up her role at St Hilda's in 1893. She continued her studies as a Home-Student and completed her exams in 1894. As women students could not earn degrees from Oxford at the time, she did not receive her MA until 1921.

Career

Burrows became a History tutor at St Hilda's in 1894 and Vice Principal in 1895. She succeeded her mother as Principal in 1910 but resigned from the position in 1919 to care for her ailing mother. In 1920, she and five others represented the

British Federation of University Women British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

at the

International Federation of University Women Graduate Women International (GWI), originally named the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), is an international organisation for women university graduates. IFUW was founded in 1919 following the First World War by both British and ...

meeting in London. In 1921, she became Principal of the Society of Oxford Home-Students (now St Anne's College, Oxford) as she could continue her caring duties alongside the role while living at home. In 1926, she served as principal of an Oxford summer course for over 200 American women students. In 1929, she again resigned her position to care for her mother, who died in 1935. In her retirement, Burrows served on a committee of the Church of England on the place of women in the church and wrote a history of St. Hilda's College.

Death

Burrows died at St Luke's Home, Linton Road, Oxford, on 10 September 1959. Following a funeral at St Giles' Church, Oxford, her body was cremated.

References

External links

A painted portrait of Christine Burrows
from about 1920, at

Art UK Art UK is a cultural, education charity in the United Kingdom, previously known as the Public Catalogue Foundation. Since 2003, it has digitised more than 300,000 paintings, sculptures and other artworks by more than 53,700 artists. It was found ...

.
A photograph of Christine Burrows
from 1950, in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Christine 1872 births 1959 deaths Principals of St Anne's College, Oxford Principals of St Hilda's College, Oxford People from Chipping Norton Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford