Newnham College
A women's college of Queen Anne red brick and long gardens, whose gardens are open to visitors on most days.
Newnham grew out of a campaign for women's higher education in the late 1860s. In 1871 the philosopher Henry Sidgwick rented a house in Regent Street for five women who wanted to attend university lectures, and he persuaded Anne Clough to run it. Within a few years the project had its own site off what became Sidgwick Avenue, where the first building went up in 1875. Girton College had opened first, so Newnham ranks as the second of the city's women's colleges, and it remains a women's college today.
What to look for
- Basil Champneys's buildings. Champneys was the college's architect from 1873 to 1913, and the result is a group of halls in what is called the Queen Anne style: red brick, white sash windows, curly gables and curving bays. Old Hall (1875) came first, followed by Sidgwick Hall, Clough Hall with its fine dining hall (1886), Pfeiffer Arch (1893), Kennedy (1906) and Peile (1910).
- The laboratory and library. Women could not use the university's laboratories, so friends of the college paid for its own, built in 1879. The Yates Thompson Library dates from 1897.
- The gardens. Virginia Woolf wrote of looking at them in A Room of One's Own, where the college appears as "Fernham". The lily pond and sunken rose garden are among the features.
- No chapel. Newnham is non-denominational and has none; its choral scholars sing in the chapel choir at Selwyn College.
Degrees and recognition
Newnham's students could sit university examinations from 1881, though their results were listed separately. The attempts to win full degrees for women failed in 1887, 1897 and 1921; after the last the women had to be content with the titles alone. Full membership of the university came only in 1948, the same year Newnham itself became a full college of the university. The college also had the first women's boat club in the university.
The arms
The coat of arms was granted in 1923 and combines emblems from the families of the people closest to the founding. The chevron joins the arms of Balfour and Kennedy, the mascles recall Clough, the star-like mullet is Balfour's, and the griffin's head is Sidgwick's. The college has no crest, because a crest and helm seemed unsuited to an all-women body.
Practical notes
The college says its gardens are open to visitors on most days of the year, with groups limited to six people unless arranged in advance and children supervised near the lily pond. It closes at times, such as over the Christmas vacation, so ring the Porters' Lodge on 01223 335700 before a special trip. The Iris Café serves light meals, teas and drinks.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
