Denman, formally Denman College, was a residential
adult education
Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...
college centred on what was Marcham Park at
Marcham
Marcham is a village and civil parish about west of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,905. The parish includes the hamlets of Cothill east-northeast of the village, and Gozzard's Ford northeast of ...
in the English county of
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
(formerly
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
). Founded by the
National Federation of Women’s Institutes
The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation 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 ...
(NFWI) in 1948, Denman offered day schools and residential courses in cookery, craft and lifestyle, as well a variety of events, conferences and weddings.
In July 2020 the NFWI trustees announced the proposed permanent closure of the college.
House
The central
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
house was previously called Marcham Park and stands on the site of the original
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
of Marcham, which was a
grange
Grange may refer to:
Buildings
* Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906
* Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682
* Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery
Geography Australia
* Grange, South Austral ...
of
Abingdon Abbey
Abingdon Abbey ( '' " St Mary's Abbey " '' ) was a Benedictine monastery located in the centre of Abingdon-on-Thames beside the River Thames.
The abbey was founded c.675 AD in honour of The Virgin Mary.
The Domesday Book of 1086 informs ...
. The present house dates from the late 17th century but was heavily remodelled for
Thomas Duffield in around 1820. Its most well-known resident was Duffield's grandfather-in-law, the infamous miser,
John Elwes.
The house is
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
and on 9 November 2015, the centenary of the first WI meeting in England, Denman's entry in the
National Heritage List for England
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...
was updated to include the WI connection, as were records for three other buildings of WI significance.
Women's Institute college
![Denman College, the lake, c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Denman_College%2C_the_lake%2C_c.1950._%2823072322056%29.jpg)
The college was formally established in 1948, and named after
Lady Denman, the first chairwoman of the WI federation.
By the 21st century, students attending Denman did not have to be members of the WI, and the college accepted male and female learners, as well as those with young children for family courses in the Cookery School.
Residential courses at Denman lasted between one and four nights, and non-residential day courses were also offered. Course subject areas included arts, crafts, music, history, sport, technology and more. Denman was also the home of the WI Cookery School.
Closure
In July 2020 the trustees announced that they could no longer afford to run Denman at a loss, and proposed its permanent closure.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Further education colleges in Oxfordshire
Educational institutions established in 1948
Vale of White Horse
1948 establishments in England
Adult education in the United Kingdom
Grade II listed buildings in Oxfordshire
Grade II listed educational buildings