Barbara Elizabeth Gwyer (1 January 1881 – 16 February 1974) was an English

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint ...

. She was principal of

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...

, from 1924 to 1946.

Early life and education

Gwyer was born on 1 January 1881 in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

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 ...

, England. Her parents were John Edward Gwyer and Edith Gwyer (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Linford), and she had a brother,

Sir Maurice Gwyer Sir Maurice Linford Gwyer, (25 April 1878 – 12 October 1952) was a British lawyer, judge, and academic administrator. He served as Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University from 1938 to 1950, and Chief Justice of India from 1937 to 1943). He is c ...

. She was educated at the Grove School, an all-girls school in

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. In 1900, she went to

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formall ...

to study

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. She achieved a second class in Mods in 1902, and a second class in '' Literae Humaniores'' in 1904. However, she could not graduate as at the time the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

only gave degrees to men. In 1920, when the statutes were changed, she graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(BA) degree and the

Oxford MA In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts are promoted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts (MA) on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university (including years as an u ...

Career

Having completed her degree in 1904, Gwyer worked as a

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

for two years. From 1906 to 1908, she was an educational organiser for the West Riding County Council's educational department. Gwyer then moved into overseeing female students at university, an area where she would spend the rest of her career. From 1910 to 1916, she was Vice-Warden of

Ashburne Hall Ashburne Hall (to which Sheavyn House is an annex) is a University of Manchester hall of residence for students on the Fallowfield Campus, situated 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the main university campus (the Oxford Road Campus). The hall has ...

, a

hall of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

for women at the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

. From 1917 to 1924, she was Warden of University Hall,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. From 1924 to 1946, she served as principal of

. She was the first principal of a women's college to be already a member of

Convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a speci ...

when she took office, owing to her own education at the University of Oxford. During her career as principal she oversaw the incorporation and drawing up of new statutes at St Hugh's, a process undertaken by the Oxford women's colleges in the 1920s in response to the Royal Commission of 1919.

Later life

Following her retirement in 1946, Gwyer was made an

honorary fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

. She lived for the rest of her life in Stokenchurch,

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

, Buckinghamshire, but was a regular visitor to St Hugh's. In old age, she became frail and used a wheelchair: she was described by

Barbara Castle Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002), was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1979, making her one of the longest-serving female MPs in Bri ...

, who had studied at St Hugh's, as "a frail, gentle figure in a wheelchair—aeons away from the ogre I had known when she was principal". She died on 16 February 1974, aged 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwyer, Barbara 1881 births Principals of St Hugh's College, Oxford 1974 deaths People from Marylebone Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford People associated with the Victoria University of Manchester People associated with the University of Leeds