Summary
Barbara Elizabeth Gwyer (1 January 1881 – 16 February 1974) was an English academic administrator. She was principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford, from 1924 to 1946.[1][2]
Barbara Gwyer | |
|---|---|
| Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford | |
| In office 1924–1946 | |
| Preceded by | Eleanor Jourdain |
| Succeeded by | Evelyn Procter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Barbara Elizabeth Gwyer 1 January 1881 Marylebone, London, England |
| Died | 16 February 1974 (aged 93) Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Alma mater | Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford |
Early life and education edit
Gwyer was born on 1 January 1881 in Marylebone, London, England. Her parents were John Edward Gwyer and Edith Gwyer (née Linford), and she had a brother, Sir Maurice Gwyer. She was educated at the Grove School, an all-girls school in Highgate, Middlesex.[2] In 1900, she went to Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford to study classics.[2][3] She achieved a second class in Mods in 1902, and a second class in Literae Humaniores in 1904.[2] However, she could not graduate as at the time the University of Oxford only gave degrees to men.[2] In 1920, when the statutes were changed, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and the Oxford MA.[2][3]
Career edit
Having completed her degree in 1904, Gwyer worked as a secretary for two years.[2] From 1906 to 1908, she was an educational organiser for the West Riding County Council's educational department.[3]
Gwyer then moved into overseeing female students at university, an area where she would spend the rest of her career.[2] From 1910 to 1916, she was Vice-Warden of Ashburne Hall, a hall of residence for women at the Victoria University of Manchester.[2][3] From 1917 to 1924, she was Warden of University Hall, Leeds.[3] From 1924 to 1946, she served as principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford.[3] She was the first principal of a women's college to be already a member of Convocation when she took office, owing to her own education at the University of Oxford.[4]: 166 During her career as principal she oversaw the incorporation and drawing up of new statutes at St Hugh's, a process undertaken by the Oxford women's colleges in the 1920s in response to the Royal Commission of 1919.[4]: 167–8
Later life edit
Following her retirement in 1946, Gwyer was made an honorary fellow of St Hugh's College, Oxford.[2] She lived for the rest of her life in Stokenchurch, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, but was a regular visitor to St Hugh's.[2][3] In old age, she became frail and used a wheelchair: she was described by Barbara Castle, who had studied at St Hugh's, as "a frail, gentle figure in a wheelchair—aeons away from the ogre I had known when she was principal".[2] She died on 16 February 1974, aged 93.[3]
References edit
- ^ "St. Hugh's College". A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 3: The University of Oxford. 1954. pp. 347–348. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Keene, Anne (January 2007). "Gwyer, Barbara Elizabeth (1881–1974)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 23 April 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b c d e f g h "GWYER, Barbara Elizabeth". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
- ^ a b Brittain, Vera (1960). The Women at Oxford. London: George G. Harrap & Co. ltd.