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, Ral ...

college centred on what was Marcham Park at Marcham 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, primaril ...

(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 Ber ...

). Founded by the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (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 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 ...

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 Austr ...

of Abingdon Abbey. The present house dates from the late 17th century but was heavily remodelled for

Thomas Duffield Thomas Duffield (October 1782 – 15 March 1854) was a Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1844. Duffield was born at Ancaster in Lincolnshire, the youngest son of Michael Duffield and his wife, Alice Duffield, younger ...

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 I ...

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, a ...

was updated to include the WI connection, as were records for three other buildings of WI significance.

Women's Institute college

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