St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of 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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The college is named after the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

Saint,

Hilda of Whitby Hilda (or Hild) of Whitby (c. 614 – 680) was a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby in 664. An important figure in the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon Engla ...

and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it remained a women's college until 2008. St Hilda's was the last single-sex college in the university as

Somerville College Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, ...

had admitted men in 1994. The college now has almost equal numbers of men and women at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. The principal of the college is Professor

Sarah Springman Dame Sarah Marcella Springman (born 26 December 1956) is a British-Swiss triathlete, civil engineer, and academic. She was educated in England and spent much of her career in Switzerland. She is a former rector of the Swiss Federal Institute of ...

, who took office in 2022. As of 2018, the college had an

endowment Endowment most often refers to: *A term for human penis size It may also refer to: Finance * Financial endowment, pertaining to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals (e.g., college endowment) *Endowment mortgage, a mortgage to ...

of £52.1 million and total assets of £113.4 million.

History

St Hilda's was founded by

Dorothea Beale Dorothea Beale LL.D. (21 March 1831 – 9 November 1906) was a suffragist, educational reformer and author. As Principal of Cheltenham Ladies' College, she became the founder of St Hilda's College, Oxford. Early and family life Dorothea Beale w ...

(who was also a headmistress 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 p ...

) in 1893, as St Hilda's Hall and recognised by the

Association for the Education of Women The Association for the Education of Women or Association for Promoting the Higher Education of Women in Oxford (AEW) was formed in 1878 to promote the education of women at the University of Oxford. It provided lectures and tutorials for stu ...

as a women's hall in 1896. It was founded as a women's college, a status it retained until 2008. Whilst other Oxford colleges gradually became co-educational, no serious debate at St Hilda's occurred until 1997, according to a former vice-principal, and then the debate solely applied to the issue of staff appointments. After a vote on 7 June 2006 by the Governing Body, men and women can be admitted as

fellows Fellows may refer to Fellow, in plural form. Fellows or Fellowes may also refer to: Places *Fellows, California, USA *Fellows, Wisconsin, ghost town, USA Other uses *Fellows Auctioneers, established in 1876. * Fellowes, Inc., manufacturer of wor ...

and students. This vote was pushed through with a narrow margin and followed previous unsuccessful votes. This led to protests from students because of the "high-handed" manner in which they were held. In October 2007 a supplemental charter was granted and in 2008 male students were admitted to St Hilda's for the first time. The college now has almost equal numbers of men and women at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. In August 2018, the interim Norrington Table showed that 98 per cent of St Hilda's finalist undergraduates obtained at least a 2.i in their degree.

Women's rowing

St Hilda's was the first women's college in Oxford and Cambridge to create a women's VIII in 1911. It was St Hilda's student H.G. Wanklyn who formed OUWBC and coxed in the inaugural Women's Boat Race of 1927, with five Hilda's rowers. In 1969, the St Hilda's Eight made Oxford history when they became the first ever female crew to row in the Summer Eights. They placed 12th.

Documentary

St Hilda's students were the subject of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

documentary series '' College Girls'', broadcast in 2002.

Buildings and grounds

The college is located at the eastern end of the

High Street, Oxford The High Street in Oxford, England, known locally as the High, runs between Carfax, generally seen as the centre of the city, and Magdalen Bridge to the east. Overview The street has been described by Nikolaus Pevsner as "''one of the world ...

, over

Magdalen Bridge Magdalen Bridge spans the divided stream of the River Cherwell just to the east of the City of Oxford, England, and next to Magdalen College, whence it gets its name and pronunciation. It connects the High Street to the west with The Plain, n ...

, in Cowley Place, making it the only University of Oxford college lying east of the

River Cherwell The River Cherwell ( or ) is a tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises near Hellidon, Northamptonshire and flows southwards for to meet the Thames at Oxford in Oxfordshire. The river gives its name to the Cherwell local g ...

. It is the most conveniently situated Oxford college for the Iffley Road Sports Complex, a focus for Oxford University Sport.

Buildings

Its grounds include six major buildings, which contain student accommodation, teaching areas, dining hall, the library and administration blocks. The first building occupied by the hall was Cowley House built by Humphrey Sibthorp. Together with later extensions it is now known as Hall. In 1921 the hall acquired the lease of Cherwell Hall, now known as South, which was originally Cowley Grange, a house built by A. G. Vernon Harcourt. The lease of Milham Ford, a former school between Hall and South, was acquired in 1958. More recent additions are Wolfson (opened in 1964), Garden (by

Alison and Peter Smithson Alison Margaret Smithson (22 June 1928 – 14 August 1993) and Peter Denham Smithson (18 September 1923 – 3 March 2003) were English architects who together formed an architectural partnership, and are often associated with the New Brutalis ...

, opened in 1971), and the Christina Barratt Building (opened in 2001). In Autumn 2020, a new Boundary Building replaced some of the older buildings, while Milham Ford, which was demolished in 2018, was replaced by a new riverside "Pavilion". The college also owns a number of properties on Iffley Road, and in the Cowley area.

The Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building

Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building, Oxford

The

Jacqueline Du Pré Jacqueline Mary du Pré (26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987) was a British cellist. At a young age, she achieved enduring mainstream popularity. Despite her short career, she is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time. Her care ...

Music Building (JdP) is a concert venue named after the famous cellist who was an honorary fellow of the college. The JdP was the first purpose-built concert hall to be built in Oxford since the Holywell Music Room in 1742. Built in 1995 by

van Heyningen and Haward Architects van Heyningen and Haward is an architectural practice, founded in 1983 by Birkin Haward and Joanna van Heyningen, and now owned and managed by James McCosh and Meryl Townley. The London architects work primarily in education, and have also work ...

, it houses the

Steinway Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a ...

-equipped Edward Boyle Auditorium and a number of music practice rooms. In 2000 the

architects An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

designed a new, enlarged foyer space; a lean-to glass structure along the front elevation to the existing music building. In addition to frequent recitals presented by the St Hilda's Music Society, the JdP also hosts concerts by a number of world-renowned performers. Musicians who have performed in the JdP in recent years include

Steven Isserlis Steven Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. He has led a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. Acclaimed for his profound musicianship, he is also noted for his diverse reper ...

, the

Jerusalem Quartet The Jerusalem Quartet is an Israeli string quartet, which made its debut in 1996. Their performance repertoire is wide and includes works of Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel ...

, the

Chilingirian Quartet The Chilingirian Quartet is a British string quartet. It gave its first public concert in Cambridge in 1972. By the time the quartet celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, there had been various changes in the line-up. However, it has continued to ...

and the

Belcea Quartet The Belcea Quartet is a string quartet, formed in 1994, under the leadership of violinist Corina Belcea. History The quartet was formed while its members were studying at the Royal College of Music in London. Whilst there, they were coached by t ...

. The building has also been used for amateur dramatic performances, since 2008 St Hilda's College Drama Society have been producing several plays a year in the Edward Boyle Auditorium.

Grounds

The college grounds stretch along the banks of the

, with many college rooms overlooking the river and playing fields beyond. The college has its own fleet of punts, which students of the college may use free of charge in summer months. Unfortunately, this location at times led to problems with flooding in the former Milham Ford building.

People associated with the college

Principals

Former students

Susanna Clarke March 2006.jpg,

Susanna Clarke Susanna Mary Clarke (born 1 November 1959) is an English author known for her debut novel '' Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'' (2004), a Hugo Award-winning alternative history. Clarke began ''Jonathan Strange'' in 1993 and worked on it during her ...

, author Baronesssusangre1.jpeg,

Susan Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield Susan Adele Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, (born 1 October 1950) is an English scientist, writer, broadcaster and member of the House of Lords (since 2001). Her research has focused on the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's dise ...

Susan Kramer 01.jpg,

Susan Kramer Susan Veronica Kramer, Baroness Kramer PC (''née'' Richards; born 21 July 1950) is a British politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park from 2005 to 2010. A member of the Liberal Democrats, she was thei ...

, Liberal Democrat politician Zanny Minton Beddoes World Economic Forum 2013 cropped.jpg, Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor of

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

Zeinab Badawi 02.jpg,

Zeinab Badawi Zeinab Badawi ( ar, زينب بدوي; born October 1959) is a Sudanese-British television and radio journalist. She was the first presenter of the ''ITV Morning News'' (later known as '' ITV News at 5:30''), and co-presented ''Channel 4 News'' ...

, BBC journalist *

Gaynor Arnold Gaynor Arnold (born 1944) is a Welsh-born author. Born in Cardiff, she studied English Literature at St. Hilda's College, Oxford, and obtained a Diploma in Social and Administrative Studies from the Department of Social Policy and Intervention ...

, novelist *

Elizabeth Aston Elizabeth Edmondson (21 February 1948 – 11 January 2016), also known under the names Elizabeth Aston and Elizabeth Pewsey, was an English author who wrote primarily in the mystery, historical, and contemporary fiction genres. She studied Ja ...

, author *

Maudy Ayunda Ayunda Faza Maudya (born 19 December 1994), known as Maudy Ayunda, is an Indonesian pop singer and actress. Personal life and education Ayunda was born to parents Didit Jasmedi R. Irawan and Mauren Jasmedi (born 1968). She has a younger sister ...

, Indonesian singer-songwriter and actress *

, BBC journalist * Kate Barker, economist *

Sarah Baxter Sarah April Louise Baxter (born 25 November 1959) is a British journalist. From 2013 to 2020, she was the deputy editor of '' The Sunday Times''. Early life Baxter was born on 25 November 1959 in London, England."Baxter, Sarah April Louise", '' ...

, journalist * Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor of

* Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, royalty *

Susan Blackmore Susan Jane Blackmore (born 29 July 1951) is a British writer, lecturer, sceptic, broadcaster, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth. Her fields of research include memetics, parapsychology, consciousness, and she is best known ...

, parapsychologist, writer and broadcaster *

D. K. Broster Dorothy Kathleen Broster (2 September 1877 – 7 February 1950), usually known as D. K. Broster, was an English novelist and short-story writer. Her fiction consists mainly of historical romances set in the 18th or early 19th centuries. Her best k ...

, historical novelist * Mikita Brottman, author, psychoanalyst * Marilyn Butler, Lady Butler, academic *

Fiona Caldicott Dame Fiona Caldicott, ( Soesan; 12 January 1941 – 15 February 2021) was a British psychiatrist and psychotherapist who also served as Principal of Somerville College, Oxford She was the National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care in ...

, psychiatrist, academic, chair of the

Caldicott Report The Caldicott Committee's ''Report on the Review of Patient-Identifiable Information'', usually referred to as the Caldicott Report was a review commissioned in 1997 by the Chief Medical Officer of England due to increasing worries concerning the ...

Committee *

, author * Wendy Cope, poet * Serena Cowdy, journalist * Lettice Curtis, aviator *

Miriam Defensor Santiago Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago (''née'' Defensor; June 15, 1945 – September 29, 2016) was a Filipino scholar, academic, lawyer, judge, author, and stateswoman who served in all three branches of the Philippine government: judicial, executiv ...

, Philippine senator,

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ee * Violet Mary Doudney, militant suffragette * Barbara Everett, academic * Susan Garden, Baroness Garden of Frognal, politician * Helen Gardner, critic * Margaret Gelling, toponymist * Adele Geras, writer *

Roma Gill Roma Gill OBE, M.A. Cantab., BLitt. Oxon. (29 September 1934 – 3 August 2001) was a British academic, writer and noted scholar on the works of Shakespeare and Marlowe. She edited more than 30 texts including three in the Oxford School Marlo ...

, academic and literary scholar *

Christina Gough Christina Maria Gough (born 18 February 1994) is a German cricketer who plays for the national cricket team as an all-rounder. She has twice been involved in setting a new record for a team's highest score without losing a wicket across all T ...

, cricketer and statistician *

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, Canadian minister *

Anna Grear Anna Maria Grear (born 4 September 1959) is an English academic, author, and political activist. Grear is the founder of several academic and activist organisations, including the Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment (G ...

, academic, Law and Theory professor, company founder and director *

, academic * Susan Gritton, soprano * Catherine Heath, novelist * Rosalind Hill, historian * Meg Hillier, politician * Victoria Hislop, writer * Bettany Hughes, historian * Ruth Hunt, CEO of Stonewall * Helen Jackson, politician *

Jenny Joseph Jenny Joseph (7 May 1932 – 15 April 2018) was an English poet, best known for the poem "Warning". Early life and education Jennifer Ruth Joseph was born on 7 May 1932 in South Hill, Carpenter Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham to Florence (née ...

, poet *

Susan Kramer, Baroness Kramer Susan Veronica Kramer, Baroness Kramer PC (''née'' Richards; born 21 July 1950) is a British politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park from 2005 to 2010. A member of the Liberal Democrats, she was th ...

, British Liberal Democrat politician *

Angela Lambert Angela Maria Lambert (née Helps; 14 April 1940 – 26 September 2007) was a British journalist, art critic, and author. She is best known for her novels ''A Rather English Marriage'' and ''Kiss and Kin'', the latter of which won the Romantic No ...

, author and journalist * Hermione Lee, critic and biographer * Nicola LeFanu, composer * Elizabeth Levett, historian *

Sue Lloyd-Roberts Susan Ann Lloyd-Roberts CBE (27 October 1950 – 13 October 2015) was a British television journalist who contributed reports to BBC programmes and, earlier in her career, worked for ITN. Early life Born in London in 1950, she was the daughter ...

, Special Correspondent for the BBC (formerly at ITN) * Margaret MacMillan, historian and Warden of St Antony's College * Anita Mason, novelist *

Val McDermid Valarie "Val" McDermid, (born 4 June 1955) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of novels featuring clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill in a grim sub-genre that McDermid and others have identified as Tartan Noir. Biography ...

, novelist * Rosalind Miles, writer *

Kate Millett Katherine Murray Millett (September 14, 1934 – September 6, 2017) was an American feminist writer, educator, artist, and activist. She attended Oxford University and was the first American woman to be awarded a degree with first-class honors ...

, feminist author *

Anne Mills Dame Anne Jane Mills, (born 26 January 1951) is a British authority on health economics. She is Deputy Director and Provost and Professor of Health Economics and Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Early life and educ ...

FRS, health economist * Brenda Moon, librarian * Laura Mulvey, feminist film theorist * Elizabeth Neville, police officer *

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, actress * Barbara Pym, novelist *

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, actor and screenwriter * Betty Radice, translator and editor * Celine Rattray, film producer *

Gillian Rose Gillian Rosemary Rose (née Stone; 20 September 1947 – 9 December 1995) was a British philosopher and writer. Rose held the chair of social and political thought at the University of Warwick until 1995. Rose began her teaching career at th ...

, philosopher *

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, academic and writer *

Sheila Rowbotham Sheila Rowbotham (born 27 February 1943) is a British socialist feminist theorist and historian. Early life Rowbotham was born on 27 February 1943 in Leeds (in present-day West Yorkshire), the daughter of a salesman for an engineering company a ...

, feminist theorist and historian * Gillian Shephard, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, politician * Helen Simpson, short story writer *

Ann Thwaite Ann Thwaite (born 4 October 1932) is a British writer who is the author of five major biographies. ''AA Milne: His Life'' was the Whitbread Biography of the Year, 1990. ''Edmund Gosse: A Literary Landscape'' (Duff Cooper Prize, 1985) was describe ...

, biographer *

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, educator *

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, historian * Hou Yifan, chess grandmaster

Fellows

* Mary Bennett *

William Boyd William, Willie, Will or Bill Boyd may refer to: Academics * William Alexander Jenyns Boyd (1842–1928), Australian journalist and schoolmaster * William Boyd (educator) (1874–1962), Scottish educator * William Boyd (pathologist) (1885–1979), ...

, author *

Gordon Duff Sir Gordon William Duff, (born 27 December 1947) is a British medical scientist and academic. He was Principal of St Hilda's College, Oxford, from 2014 to 2021. He was Lord Florey Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Sheffiel ...

* Helen Gardner *

Elspeth Kennedy Elspeth Mary Kennedy, MA, DPhil, FSA (6 August 1921 – 10 March 2006) was a British academic and a prominent medievalist. She is best known as the editor and author of works on medieval French literature. Early life and education Elspeth Ken ...

* Barbara Levick * Beryl Smalley * Helen Waddell *

Kathy Wilkes Kathleen Vaughan Wilkes (23 June 1946 – 21 August 2003) was an English philosopher and academic who played an important part in rebuilding the education systems of former Communist countries after 1990. She established her reputation as an aca ...

Honorary fellows

* Doris Odlum * Rosalyn Tureck

Gallery

File:Garden Building, St. Hilda's College, Oxford.jpg, Garden Building File:Hall building and Porter's Lodge, St. Hilda's College, Oxford.jpg, Hall building and Porters' Lodge (now demolished) File:St Hilda's College Library.jpg, College library File:St Hilda's South Building.jpg, South Building as seen from the croquet lawn File:St Hilda's JdP exterior.jpg, The exterior of the JdP File:View_from_the_roof_of_the_Anniversary_Building.jpg, Anniversary building and Pavilion