Lilian Mary Faithfull CBE (12 March 1865 – 2 May 1952) was an English teacher, headmistress, women's rights advocate, magistrate, social worker, and humanitarian. She was one of the "

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 ...

" who were part of the struggle for women to gain university education. From 1889 until 1894 she was a lecturer at

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

and then joined

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, where she succeeded Cornelia Schmitz as vice-principal of the Ladies Department for the next 13 years, a position she regarded as the happiest of her career. She was principal of

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 ...

from 1907 until 1922. In 1920, she became Justice of the Peace for

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, becoming one of the first women magistrates in England. Faithfull started the organisation that is now Lilian Faithfull Homes in Cheltenham, and she spent the last few months of her life in the care of one of the homes, Faithfull House, until her death in 1952.

Early life and education

Lilian Faithfull was born in

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon ...

, Hertfordshire, in 1865. Her father, Francis Faithfull, was a clerk at the

Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors ] The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 110 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prio ...

. Her mother, Edith Lloyd, stayed home with eight children while also writing a ''History of England'' and magazine articles. Lilian was the second youngest of the six girls and two boys. She lived in an upper-middle class country house in Hertfordshire and was educated at The Grange in Hoddesdon (the only girl at the time), and later at home by her mother and

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, ...

es.

Emily Faithfull Emily Faithfull (27 May 1835 – 31 May 1895) was an English women's rights activist who set up the Victoria Press to publish the '' English Woman's Journal''. Biography Emily Faithfull was born on 27 May 1835 at Headley Rectory, Surrey. She w ...

, an early

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countri ...

activist, was her cousin. Both of Faithfull's parents were opinionated about issues such as femininity and social class, but were not radicals. Faithfull entered

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, ...

Oxford University 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 ...

in 1883, just four years after it was established. She was the first captain of the women's hockey team and the college tennis champion, and graduated with a first in English in 1887. She later claimed an

ad eundem degree An degree is an academic degree awarded by one university or college to an alumnus of another, in a process often known as incorporation. The recipient of the degree is often a faculty member at the institution which awards the degree, e.g. at ...

from

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

in 1905.

Career

Between 1887 and 1888, Faithfull taught at Oxford High School, and was secretary to the principal of Somerville,

Madeleine Shaw Lefevre Madeleine Septimia Shaw Lefevre (6 May 1835 – 19 September 1914) was the Principal of Somerville Hall for its first 10 years, from 1879 to 1889. The hall became Somerville College, Oxford in 1894. Early life Shaw Lefevre was born in 1835, the ...

. From 1889 until 1894 she was a lecturer at

and then joined

, where she succeeded Cornelia Schmitz as vice-principal of the Ladies Department for the next 13 years. It was here that

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born ...

met her, and Faithfull described her position as "one of the happiest educational posts for women in England". In 1890, Faithfull suggested that women who had competed for Oxford or Cambridge in intercollegiate sports should be awarded special badges like their male counterparts. This was implemented in 1891 and marked the start of the Lady Blue. Along with Margaret Gilliland and Sara Burstall, Faithfull believed that the important household topics of cookery, laundry and hygiene should feature as scientific subjects on the school curriculum. She wanted to get rid of the distinction between the professional woman and the women studying "home science". In 1895, Faithfull became the first president of the Ladies' Hockey Association (later the

All England Women's Hockey Association All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All al ...

), and remained in that role until at least 1907. In 1907, Faithfull became the principal of

, succeeding

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 ...

. She remained in that position for 15 years. In 1920, she became

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

for Cheltenham, becoming one of the first women magistrates in England. Faithfull was active as a social worker, improving social conditions for the poor in London, and was chair of a committee to improve nutrition in children. She founded the Old People's Housing Society in Cheltenham, later renamed the Lilian Faithfull Homes. Faithfull was the model for the Helen Butterfield character in ''The Constant Nymph'', a 1924 novel by

Margaret Kennedy Margaret Moore Kennedy (23 April 1896 – 31 July 1967) was an English novelist and playwright. Her most successful work, as a novel and as a play, was '' The Constant Nymph''. She was a productive writer and several of her works were filmed. T ...

(a former student of Cheltenham). She was a

Fellow of King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and received an honorary MA from Oxford in 1925. In 1926 Faithfull was made a

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 ...

. She never married. Faithfull died on 2 May 1952 at Faithfull House, and was buried in Cheltenham.

Bibliography

*1903: ''Selections from the Poems of H. W. Longfellow. With an introduction by Lilian M. Faithfull'' *1908: ''School hymns for use in the Cheltenham Ladies' College'' *1923: ''Some Addresses'' *1924: ''In the House of My Pilgrimage'' (reprinted 1925), her memoirs of her time at Cheltenham Ladies' College *1927: ''You and I. Saturday talks at Cheltenham'' *1928: ''The Pilgrim and Other Poems'' *1940: ''The Evening Crowns the Day. Reminiscences. ''

Early life and education

Career

Bibliography

References

Further reading