Ann Dudin Brown (1822–1917) was a benefactor. She funded the establishment of

Westfield College Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...

for women.

Life

Brown was born to John Dudin Brown and his wife, Ann, on the 2nd January 1822. Her father was a

wharfinger Wharfinger (pronounced ''wor-fin-jer)'' is an archaic term for a person who is the keeper or owner of a wharf. The wharfinger takes custody of and is responsible for goods delivered to the wharf, typically has an office on the wharf or dock, and ...

on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

and a generous benefactor. Brown was an

Evangelical Anglican Evangelical Anglicanism or evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, a ...

. She never married and lived in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

hotels. Brown devoted her life to Anglicanism and good works. When she was in her late fifties she heard of the American women who were being trained as missionaries in a college started by

Mary Lyon Mary Mason Lyon (; February 28, 1797 – March 5, 1849) was an American pioneer in women's education. She established the Wheaton Female Seminary in Norton, Massachusetts, (now Wheaton College) in 1834. She then established Mount Holyoke Femal ...

. She decided to copy that initiative when she was introduced by the Petrie family to a

Constance Maynard Constance Louisa Maynard (9 February 1849 – 26 March 1935) was the first principal of Westfield College (1882–1913) and a pioneer of women's education. She was the first woman to read Moral Sciences (philosophy) at the University of Cambridge. ...

and her group who persuaded her to fund a new women's college in London instead. Westfield college was founded in 1882 by Brown and

. The college which had no name had two members of staff and five students. Maynard was one of those staff and its first principal.Janet Sondheimer, ‘Brown, Ann Dudin (1822–1917)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 11 March 2017
/ref> Dudin Brown was a frequent visitor to Westfield and she continued to make substantial contributions, including funds for a permanent building, Kidderpore House, in 1890. She would fund students who had financial difficulties as well as St Luke's which was the nearest church. She was said to be pleased that the college created missionaries. The college only allowed Anglican students
Women of Queen Mary U of London, Retrieved 11 March 2017 and residency was a requirement.Westfield College
AIM25, Retrieved 11 March 2017 Brown died aged 95 at the Norfolk Hotel in

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

on the 30th June 1917, where she had lived in the final years of her life. She had said that her most pleasing work was funding Westfield College and she was buried in

Hampstead Cemetery Hampstead Cemetery is a historic cemetery in West Hampstead, London, located at the upper extremity of the NW6 district. Despite the name, the cemetery is three-quarters of a mile from Hampstead Village, and bears a different postcode. It is j ...

, just a short walk away on the other side of the

Finchley Road Finchley Road is a designated arterial road in north-west London, England. The Finchley Road starts in St John's Wood near central London as part of the A41; its southern half is a major dual carriageway with high traffic levels often freque ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Ann Dudin 1822 births 1917 deaths Burials at Hampstead Cemetery English Anglicans English women philanthropists People associated with Westfield College Evangelical Anglicans