Studley Horticultural & Agricultural College for Women was a horticultural and agricultural college for women, near Studley in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, which operated from 1898 until 1969.

History

The college was founded by

Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick Frances Evelyn "Daisy" Greville, Countess of Warwick (''née'' Maynard; 10 December 1861 – 26 July 1938) was a British socialite and philanthropist. Although embedded in late-Victorian British high society, she was also a campaigning socialis ...

. In 1898 she had founded Warwick Hostel in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

to offer training to 'surplus women in the lighter branches of agriculture'. Warwick Hostel expanded and moved to Studley Castle in

in 1903, becoming Studley Horticultural & Agricultural College for Women. An early student was

Adela Pankhurst Adela Constantia Mary Walsh ( Pankhurst; 19 June 1885 – 23 May 1961) was a British-born suffragette who worked as a political organiser for the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Scotland. In 1914 she moved to Australia where she co ...

, and an early warden (1908-1914, 1918-1922) was Dr

Lillias Hamilton Lillias Anna Hamilton (7 February 1858 – 6 January 1925) was a British medical doctor and writer. She was born at Tomabil Station, New South Wales to Hugh Hamilton (1822– 1900) and his wife Margaret Clunes (née Innes). After attending scho ...

Students included Taki Handa, a student and instructor at

Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts is a private women's college in Kyotanabe, Kyoto, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1876, and it was chartered as a university in 1949. History In 1875, Protestant educator Niijima Jō (Joseph Hardy Neesima) founded Dosh ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, who studied at Studley from 1906 to 1907 and designed a garden at Cowden Estate in Muckhart, Scotland. The College students undertook hard practical work in its greenhouses and vegetable gardens. In 1920

Helen Ekins Helen Ekins (9 November 1879 – 4 June 1964) was a British horticulturist and educational administrator associated with Studley College which trained women in agriculture, in Warwickshire. Life Ekins was born in St Albans. Her parents were Eliz ...

completed a part-time degree in horticulture at

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. Hamilton lauded her as the "most highly qualified... in horticulture in England". Hamilton had to retire due to ill health four years later and Ekins became her the new warden. The college offered a Diploma in Horticulture from 1924 and this was a three year course. In 1934 the college offered a degree course of the University of London leading to a BSc in horticulture. Ekins was to serve as warden until 1946, when Mrs. K.G.Woolacott, became the new warden. The

plant collector A botanical specimen, also called a plant specimen, is a biological specimen of a plant (or part of a plant) used for scientific purposes. Preserved collections of algae, fungi, slime molds, and other organisms traditionally studied by botanists a ...

, Clara Winsome Muirhead studied horticulture at Studley between 1933 and 1935. The College remained an all-women college throughout its existence, closing in 1969. The assets were used to found the Studley College Trust, a charitable trust that awards grants to students of agriculture and horticulture. The

Museum of English Rural Life The Museum of English Rural Life, also known as The MERL, is a museum, library and archive dedicated to recording the changing face of farming and the countryside in England. The museum is run by the University of Reading, and is situated in Red ...

holds a collection of horticultural trophies and medals, and archival material relating to Studley College. Studley Castle has since become a conference centre and wedding venue.

Notable students

Some notable students of the college were: *

(1885–1961), suffragette * Isobel Wylie Hutchison (1889–1982), Arctic traveller, filmmaker and botanist * Clara Winsome Muirhead (1916–1985), botanist and plant collector *

(1879–1964), horticulturist and educational administrator *

Dion Fortune Dion Fortune (born Violet Mary Firth, 6 December 1890 – 6 or 8 January 1946) was a British occultist, ceremonial magician, and writer. She was a co-founder of the Fraternity of the Inner Light, an occult organisation that promoted philoso ...

(1890–1946) occultist, ceremonial magician, novelist and author * Georgiana Maxwell, 26th Baroness de Ros (1933–1983), peeress * Taki Handa (1871–1956), Japanese horticulturist

References

External links

Searchable resource for photographs of Studley Horticultural College in the early years

Studley Castle web site, showing the premises as they are today

Studley College Trust

The Agrarian History of England and Wales volume VII 1850-1914, editor E.J.T. Collins, series editor Joan Thirsk, Cambridge University Press 2011
Defunct schools in Warwickshire History of Warwickshire {{Warwickshire-struct-stub