Matilda Ellen Bishop by James Jebusa Shannon (1862–1923) painting

Matilda Ellen Bishop (12 April 1842 in

Tichborne Tichborne is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish east of Winchester in Hampshire, England. History In archaeology in the south of the parish within the South Downs National Park is a bell barrow, bowl barrow and regular aggre ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

– 1 July 1913 in

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

, London) was the first Principal of

Royal Holloway College, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, ...

and was responsible for establishing many of the early traditions at the institution. Her father was a scholarly

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

clergyman.

Early life

Bishop was educated at a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

for young ladies in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, where she had to learn passages of the Bible by heart. She taught at

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

from the age of eleven. At sixteen (c.1858) she was sent to

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.< ...

, London, and was deeply influenced by Revd

F. D. Maurice John Frederick Denison Maurice (1805–1872), known as F. D. Maurice, was an English Anglican theologian, a prolific author, and one of the founders of Christian socialism. Since the Second World War, interest in Maurice has expanded."Fre ...

Career

She then followed a teaching career becoming the first deputy and the second headmistress of Oxford High School from 1879 to 1887. She was replaced by

Lucy Soulsby Lucy Helen Muriel Soulsby (18 July 1856 – 19 May 1927) was a British headmistress of Oxford High School, England, Oxford High School for Girls. She notably opposed women's suffrage. Life Soulsby was born in London in 1856. Her parents were Susan ...

. Bishop was appointed as the first Principal of Royal Holloway College on its opening in 1887. The founder,

Thomas Holloway : Thomas Holloway (22 September 180026 December 1883) was an English patent medicine vendor and philanthropist. Early life Holloway was born in Devonport, Plymouth, Devon, the eldest son of Thomas and Mary Holloway (née Chellew), who at the ...

had stipulated that the principal was to be an unmarried female, or a widow without children, under the age of 40, though the age restriction was lifted when there were no suitable applicants. She was responsible for proposing the college provide scholarships to capable students, leading to the establishment of Royal Holloway's Founder's scholarships. She also interviewed the first teaching staff and her recommendations to the Governors of the college were approved. She is also credited with establishing many of the early traditions at the college, including 'College hours'. She initially encouraged the students to take

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

degrees though Oxford did not admit women to its degrees until 1920. However, students were also entered for

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

degrees where successful candidates had been awarded degrees since 1878. She later expressed the opinion that the college should become a constituent school of London University. This was established by her successor, Dame Emily Penrose in 1900 with Penrose becoming a member of London University Senate. In 1897, she resigned when the governors wanted to introduce

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

services in the college chapel on alternate Sundays. The college founder,

had stipulated that the college should be non-denominational. In 1899, she became Principal of the newly founded St Gabriel's Church of England Training College for Women Teachers in

, and died in office in 1913. She never married though she had been engaged for a time before her appointment to Royal Holloway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Matilda Ellen 1842 births 1913 deaths People educated at Queen's College, London Schoolteachers from London People associated with Royal Holloway, University of London