Matilda Ellen Bishop (12 April 1842 in

Tichborne Tichborne is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish east of Winchester in Hampshire, England. History In archaeology in the south of the parish within the South Downs National Park is a bell barrow, bowl barrow and regular aggr ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

– 1 July 1913 in

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, London) was the first

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

of Royal Holloway College, University of London and was responsible for establishing many of the early traditions at the institution. Her father was a scholarly

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

clergyman.

Early life

Bishop was educated at a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

for young ladies in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, where she had to learn passages of the Bible by heart. She taught at

Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

from the age of eleven. At sixteen (c.1858) she was sent to Queen's College, London, Queens College,

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.F. D. Maurice.

Career

She then followed a teaching career becoming the first deputy and the second headmistress of Oxford High School from 1879 to 1887. She was replaced by

Lucy Soulsby Lucy Helen Muriel Soulsby (18 July 1856 – 19 May 1927) was a British headmistress of Oxford High School for Girls. She notably opposed women's suffrage. Life Soulsby was born in London in 1856. Her parents were Susan Sybilla (born Thompson) an ...

. Bishop was appointed as the first Principal of Royal Holloway College on its opening in 1887. The founder,

Thomas Holloway : Thomas Holloway (22 September 180026 December 1883) was an English businessman and philanthropist. Early life Holloway was born in Devonport, Plymouth, Devon, the eldest son of Thomas and Mary Holloway (née Chellew), who at the time of the ...

had stipulated that the principal was to be an unmarried female, or a widow without children, under the age of 40, though the age restriction was lifted when there were no suitable applicants. She was responsible for proposing the college provide scholarships to capable students, leading to the establishment of Royal Holloway's Founder's scholarships. She also interviewed the first teaching staff and her recommendations to the Governors of the college were approved. She is also credited with establishing many of the early traditions at the college, including 'College hours'. She initially encouraged the students to take

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degrees though Oxford did not admit women to its degrees until 1920. However, students were also entered for

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

degrees where successful candidates had been awarded degrees since 1878. She later expressed the opinion that the college should become a constituent school of London University. This was established by her successor, Dame Emily Penrose in 1900 with Penrose becoming a member of London University Senate. In 1897, she resigned when the governors wanted to introduce nonconformist services in the college chapel on alternate Sundays. The college founder,

had stipulated that the college should be non-denominational. In 1899, she became Principal of the newly founded St Gabriel's Church of England Training College for Women Teachers in

, and died in office in 1913. She never married though she had been engaged for a time before her appointment to Royal Holloway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Matilda Ellen 1842 births 1913 deaths People educated at Queen's College, London Schoolteachers from London People associated with Royal Holloway, University of London