Helena Clara Deneke (1878–1973) was a British

Germanist German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, German literature, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on Culture ...

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. She was an enthusiast for women's suffrage and for the

Women's Institutes The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

. She was "something of a legend in the Oxford of her day".

Life

Helena Deneke was born in London on 19 May 1878, the oldest child of Philip Maurice Deneke, a German-born London merchant banker, and Clara Sophia Overweg, of a landed Westphalian family.D. Phillips
Deneke, Helena Clara
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', 2004. Retrieved 6 January 2020. She was educated privately and at St Hugh's Hall, Oxford, where she befriended Grace Hadow, a fellow English student at

Somerville College Somerville College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The college's liberal tone derives from its f ...

. Deneke gained a first in English in 1903. She became librarian of St Hugh's in 1904, initially teaching English, though switching to become tutor in German in 1909. Deneke was active within the Oxford Women Students' Society for Women's Suffrage (OWSSWS), established in 1911 with Hadow as president. Deneke and Hadow joined the 1913 Great Pilgrimage for women's suffrage, and Deneke served as OWSSWS Secretary in 1914–15. In 1913, she moved to

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a 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 college is more formally known under ...

as German tutor and bursar. She and her sister, the pianist

Margaret Deneke Margaret Clara Adele Deneke (1882–1969) was an English pianist, musicologist, choirmaster, and benefactor of Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford. Biography Margaret Deneke was born in 1882. She was the daughter of Philip Maurice Deneke, a London-b ...

, lived in a house,

Gunfield Gunfield is a large detached Gothic Revival house in Norham Gardens, North Oxford, a Victorian era, Victorian suburb of Oxford, England. It was designed by the architect Frederick Codd (1799–1881) and completed in 1877. It is located on the Norh ...

, close to the college. The pair held highly regarded musical soirees at Gunfield, attended by guests including

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

and

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...

. Deneke was Treasurer of the

National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In March 1919 it w ...

until 1919, after which she threw her energies into establishing an Oxford Federation of

. In 1926, she was elected a Lady Margaret Hall fellow. Retiring from the college in 1938, she continued as a lecturer at St Anne's College until 1942. As a result of her WI activity, Deneke and Betty Norris of the

Townswomen's Guild Members representing their Federation at the 2009 AGM in Birmingham The Townswomen's Guild (TG) is a British women's organisation. There are approximately 30,000 members, 706 branches and 77 Federations throughout England, Scotland, Wales and N ...

were invited to play a political role in reconstructing women's organisations in post-war Germany. Deneke visited Germany seven times as a Visiting Expert in women's affairs, "making contact with nearly all German women of importance in German life". Their report, published in 1947, emphasised Deneke's hopes for ''Landfrauenvereine'' analogous to English WIs, and German women's immediate need for practical material aid rather than 'preaching' of democracy. Helena Deneke died in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

on 26 September 1973. Her manuscript memoirs and personal papers are held at Lady Margaret Hall.

Works

* 'Goethe's mind and art', '' Hibbert Journal'', Vol. XXX (July 1932), pp. 626–637 * 'Some observations on Jean Paul', in ''German studies presented to Professor H.G. Fiedler, M.V.O., by pupils, colleagues, and friends on his seventy-fifth birthday''. Oxford:

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1938. * ''Grace Hadow''. Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1946. * (with Betty Norris) ''The Women of Germany''. London: The National Council of Social Services, 1947

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deneke, Helena 1878 births 1973 deaths Academics from London English people of German descent Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford British Germanists English suffragists English librarians British women librarians People associated with St Hugh's College, Oxford Fellows of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford People associated with St Anne's College, Oxford Burials at Wolvercote Cemetery

Life

Works

See also

References