Dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

Jane Frances Dove, DBE, JP (27 June 1847 – 21 June 1942) was an English women's campaigner, who founded

Wycombe Abbey Wycombe Abbey is an independent girls' boarding and day school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls schools in academic results. The school was founded in 1896 by Dame Frances Dove (1847 ...

and other girls' schools.

Early life and education

Born in

Bordeaux, France Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

the eldest of ten children of Revd. John Thomas Dove vicar of

Cowbit __NOTOC__ Cowbit (locally pronounced ''Cubbit'') is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,220. It is situated south from Spalding and no ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, Dove attended

Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...

, Cambridge but as the

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

refused to award women degrees she instead received hers ''

ad eundem Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

'' from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

; one of the many so called "

steamboat ladies "Steamboat ladies" was a nickname given to a number of female students at the women's colleges of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge who were awarded ''ad eundem'' University of Dublin degrees at Trinity College Dublin, between 1904 and 19 ...

" to do so.

Career

She later became Assistant Mistress at

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to pr ...

in 1877. From there she went on to become headmistress of

St Leonards School St Leonards School is an independent boarding and day school for pupils aged 4–19 in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Founded in 1877 as St Andrews School for Girls Company, it adopted the St Leonards name upon moving to its current premises, the s ...

, St Andrews, Scotland in 1882. She later founded

in 1896, and was its first headmistress. In 1900 she also founded the Godstowe School. On retirement from Wycombe Abbey in 1910, she endowed a scholarship at the school. She was elected in 1907 to High Wycombe Borough Council. In 1928 she was made

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. She died in 1942, six days before her 95th birthday.

Legacy

In 1933, she presented the Frances Dove Window at All Saints' Church,

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 ...

, to pay tribute to the achievement of women through the ages.

References

Sources

*Alison L. Prentice & Marjorie R. Theobald, ''Women Who Taught: Perspectives on the History of Women and Teaching'' (1991) *

Elsie Bowerman Elsie Edith Bowerman (18 December 1889 – 18 October 1973) was a British lawyer, suffragette, political activist, and RMS ''Titanic'' survivor. Early life Elsie Edith Bowerman was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the only daughter of Willia ...

, ''Stands there a School - Memories of Dame Frances Dove, D.B.E., Founder of Wycombe Abbey School'' (1965) *

Jessie Street Jessie Mary Grey, Lady Street (née Lillingston; 18 April 1889 – 2 July 1970) was an Australian diplomat, suffragette and campaigner for Indigenous Australian rights, dubbed "Red Jessie" by the media. As Australia's only female delegate to th ...

(ed. Lenore Coltheart), ''Jessie Street, a revised autobiography'', Federation Press, (2004) ()

External links

Reach Information.com

Women in Local Government - includes pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dove, Frances 1847 births 1942 deaths Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge English justices of the peace Schoolteachers from Buckinghamshire Councillors in Buckinghamshire Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from High Wycombe People from Bordeaux Founders of English schools and colleges People from South Holland (district) Women heads of schools in the United Kingdom Steamboat ladies Women councillors in England