Georgiana Charlotte Clive Chapman, Lady Chapman, (11 May 1855 – 4 April 1941) was a biographer and a council member and college administrator for

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 ...

in Hampstead from 1890 to her death in 1941.

Early life

Georgiana Charlotte Clive Bayley was born 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 ...

on 11 May 1855, the daughter of

Edward Clive Bayley Sir Edward Clive Bayley (17 October 1821 – 30 April 1884), was an Anglo-Indian civil servant, statesman and archæologist. Early life Bayley was the only son of Edward Clive Bayley, of Hope Hall, Eccles, Lancashire, and Margaret Fenton. He was ...

and the writer Emily Anne Theophila Bayley. Her father held a position in the English Civil Service in India, and Georgiana spent her early years in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. By 1884, Bayley was living with her widowed mother in Ascot when she took up a part-time post as secretary to the council of

in Hampstead. She was responsible for a range of administrative duties and helped the college's Principal,

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. ...

, with the accounts.

Marriage and time in India

In 1886, Bayley left the college after her marriage to Edward Francis Chapman. They moved to India, where he took up post as quartermaster-general, until 1889 when they returned to England. Whilst in India she gathered the material for her book, ''Sketches of some Distinguished India Women'', which was published in 1891. The books introduction precedes profiles of the social reformer

Pandita Ramabai Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati (23 April 1858 – 5 April 1922) was an Indian Social Reformer. She was the first woman to be awarded the titles of '' Pandita'' as a Sanskrit scholar and ''Sarasvati'' after being examined by the faculty of the Unive ...

, physician Dr.

Anandi Gopal Joshi Dr. Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi (31 March 1865 – 26 February 1887) was the first Indian female doctor of western medicine. She was the first woman from the erstwhile Bombay presidency of India to study and graduate with a two-year degree in west ...

, The Marahani of Kuch Behar, the poet

Toru Dutt Toru Dutt ( bn, তরু দত্ত; 4 March 1856 – 30 August 1877) was an Indian Bengali translator and poet from British India, who wrote in English and French. She is among the founding figures of Indo-Anglian literature, alongside Henry ...

and the lawyer

Cornelia Sorabji Cornelia Sorabji (15 November 1866 – 6 July 1954) was an Indian lawyer, social reformer and writer. She was the first female graduate from Bombay University, and the first woman to study law at Oxford University. Returning to India after her ...

Involvement with Westfield College

On their return to England, Lady Chapman took up a post as a member of the Westfield College council which she held for the rest of her life. She shared the College's aims of both preparing women for London University degrees and Christian service. The College required all council members to belong to the evangelical wing of the Church of England. She focussed heavily on her work with the College, serving on committees and drawing up the annual report. In 1909, Lady Chapman was offered the role of vice-chair when it was created. As vice-chair she frequently deputised for the men who held the office of chair. From 1917, Chapman was also the chair of the finance committee of the college. She and her husband both donated from their own collections to the college library. A new library, completed in 1927, was named after her. Between 1900 and 1920, and again from 1931 to 1933, Lady Chapman was President of the Westfield College Association: a membership group for former students. She officially gave up her roles with the college in 1937, but remained on its council.

Other activities

From 1901, when her husband retired, the Chapmans lived in

Limpsfield Limpsfield is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs close to Oxted railway station and the A25.

. She co-founded a branch of the Women's Citizens' Association and was co-opted onto the education committee of

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...

. She was critical of the state educational offer as she felt it was biased towards the needs of men and boys. She became Lady Chapman when her husband was knighted in 1906. After her husband's death, Chapman moved to

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

to be near Westfield College.

Death

Chapman died on 4 April 1941 in Hampstead, and her funeral was held in the college chapel.

References

External links

Sketches of Some Distinguished Indian Women
by Mrs E F Chapman (google books) 1855 births {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Georgiane 1941 deaths People from London People associated with Westfield College Educational administrators