Chapter VIII: Epilogue: 1914 and After

The outbreak of the Great War marks an epoch in the history of Newnham as of other institutions at home and abroad. Its experience confirms also the commonly repeated statement that in many things the results of the war have proved very different from those anticipated either in the event of success or of failure. One consequence confidently anticipated was at least temporary decline. We were bound to suffer restrictions and something of poverty, for the first item in which the so-called practical man and woman economize is education. Yet we all see at this moment that in spite of fiscal difficulties in public and losses in private affairs, all our schools and colleges are full to overflowing. Newnham participates in this experience, and is compelled to refuse promise of admission to many qualified and promising students. The reasons for this surprising fact are to be found partly in government policy, partly in economic causes still awaiting elucidation; possibly also in a genuine belief in education as a good thing for women as for men.

One danger is to be apprehended: the lack of really well-prepared students, owing to the comparative scarcity of able University women who enter the teaching profession. Yet while these words are being written, the course of events may take an opposite trend. The salaries of mistresses in schools are raised to an unprecedented height, if perhaps hardly more than is required to cover increased cost of living. And the young women who have been serving the country in administrative work or directing their energies to the land or to domestic productiveness may, in course of time, find their way back to the task of teaching, which, after all, has inspired a genuine enthusiasm in many of our leaders. Early in the War, when some students were feeling doubts whether patriotic duty might not bid them give up their academic course for labour of a directly useful kind, the Right Hon. H. A. L. Fisher gave in Cambridge a convincing address as to the necessity of keeping up educational and academic work with a view to the requirements of the future.

Any even slight account of what Newnham students of past days did during the War would seem to be out of place here in that they did it as individuals, not as a College.[16] Collectively, however, they furnished, along with Girton, a hospital unit which did excellent work in Belgium, France and Serbia, and later in Salonika. This unit was organized under Scottish management by the Union of Suffrage Societies, but there was, of course, no political aim in its operations.

[Footnote 16: A list of the various war work of Newnham students in 1914-19 is in process of preparation.]

Past students of Newnham were engaged in War Hospitals in many places. At the same time some of the most competent Newnham mathematicians were employed in making calculations to assist in the construction of aeroplanes. A multitude undertook work in helping soldiers' families, providing necessaries for hospitals, and housing refugees; while others went in companies to gather in fruit and do other work on the land. In London so many were engaged in government offices that a past student in London in the summer of 1917, meeting College friends at every turn, would salute each fresh face with: "What department are you in?" Many took temporary posts in Universities and boys' schools. Those who remained in Cambridge had much to do in teaching English to Belgians, Serbians and other refugees, and in visiting wounded soldiers in the First Eastern and other Hospitals.

The result of all this activity along unexpectedly opened lines cannot yet be estimated. Certainly proof was given of the efficiency of educated women in carrying on work that had never been open to them before. In some regions (_e.g._ that of police work) it has been agreed upon that even in normal times it is highly desirable that some women should be employed. The issue must be awaited in patience.

It would, of course, be unworthy of the College to suppose that in their activities these women were moved by a wish to better their position and that of their College. Common humanity and genuine patriotism were at the bottom of their efforts. But doubtless the capacity and energy which they displayed helped indirectly towards the grant of the Suffrage. It is a very notable thing that when the Suffrage came, past students of Newnham and Girton of the qualified age, who had the "equivalent of a degree," were adjudged capable of using the parliamentary vote for the University of Cambridge. Parliament was, however, not so liberal as Dublin had been, as it did not recognise as "equivalent" the Tripos Certificates given before the Graces of 1881.

One more change awaited the College at the end of the last academic year, in the retirement of the Principal, Miss Katharine Stephen, a loss much deplored, though Miss Stephen retains her seat on the Council. Her devotion to the work she had undertaken, and the ability with which she discharged it need no eulogies here. Happily, her place has been filled by the niece and biographer of the First Principal. Miss B. A. Clough has not only spent many years within the College precincts and watched its continuous progress, with occasional drawbacks, from comparatively early days; she has also been intimately associated with its pioneers and has acquired an unrivalled knowledge of the aspirations and the needs of student life. As, in old times, the rule of a Foundress Abbess seemed sometimes to be best carried on by a niece who had lived much in her environment, so we may hope good things in future from the fact that our Principal is in more than name the honoured successor of Anne Jemima Clough.

As these chapters were being written, the struggle was again begun for membership in the University of Cambridge, and--as we know only too well--the result was a failure, though not so crushing a failure as the attempt in 1897 when the demands were far more modest. It is not desirable to dwell on this event, but we hope we may accept the assurance of many friends that it cannot be long before we obtain what we are asking. Meanwhile we may console ourselves by thinking that the Women's Colleges have earned the respect even of opponents, and that there is no probability of their being deprived of the privileges which they still enjoy. It would be unwise to pretend indifference to our defeat. Yet we have full reason to celebrate our Jubilee in joy and hope. For, after all, the treasure to seek which our pioneers came to Cambridge fifty years ago, is in our possession and likely to remain with us permanently. That treasure is Education: the opportunity of learning from the best teachers; of co-operation with like-minded learners; the opening up of opportunities of learning more of nature and of man; fitness for doing whatever tasks the future may offer to those who seek, like our first benefactors, a life of active and intelligent service. That was their ideal and it may well continue to be ours.

INDEX

Adams, Mrs., 13.

Adams, Miss A. M. (Mrs. Corrie Grant), 67, 69.

Albert Victor, Prince, Duke of Clarence, 64.

Aldis, Mrs., of Newcastle, 46.

Alexandra, Princess of Wales (Queen Alexandra), 64.

Archer-Hind, Mr. R. D., 24.

Armitage, Mrs. E. (_née_ Bulley), 25.

Associates of Newnham College, 91.

Association for Promoting the Higher Education of Women in Cambridge,
founded, 13; amalgamated with Newnham Hall Company, 33.

Balfour, Miss Alice, 38.

Balfour, Rt. Hon. A. J., 118.

Balfour, Prof. Francis Maitland (_see_ Laboratories: biological), 38.

Bateson, Mrs. Anna, 13, 14, 24.

Bateson, Miss Mary, 93 _seq._

Bateson, Dr. William, 95, 102.

Bathurst, Hon. Selina, 64, 93.

Bedford College, London, 6.

Birmingham University, 46.

Bonney, Rev. Dr. T. G., 13.

Boreham, Mrs., gives telescope to Newnham, 126.

Bristol University, 46.

Brough, Mrs. (_née_ Lloyd), 69.

Browne, Bishop G. F., Sec. to Syndicate for local lectures, etc., 11,
47.

Bryce, Lord, on North of England Council, 9; first Sidgwick Memorial
Lecture, 108.

Bulley, Miss Amy (Mrs. Brooke), 25.

Bursar, title of, 118.

Butler, Canon Geo., 9.

Butler, Mrs. Josephine, 9.

Butler, Rev. Dr. H. M., Master of Trinity, 102, 103.

Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry, 97.

Cayley, Professor A., 14, 47.

Champneys, Mr. Basil, 28, 87.

Chapel, why none in Newnham College, 60 _seq._

Charter of 1917, 115 _seq._

Clay, Mr. C. J., lends room for first lectures to women in Cambridge,
14.

Clough, Miss Anne Jemima, starts Newnham, 2; early education and
experience, 5; helps in work of Northern Council, 13; comes to
Cambridge, 18; her character and ideas, 22 _seq._; removes into
Merton Hall, 26; into Bateman Street, 28; into Newnham Hall, 28;
chaperones to lectures, 40; life in Newnham, 58, 59, 60, 64, 68
_seq._; success of her policy, 55, 76; last illness and death, 81;
funeral service in King's College Chapel, 81; Dr. Ryle's sermon, 82;
portraits, 78; debt of Newnham to her, 83.

Clough, Miss B. A., Fourth Principal of the College, 80, 138.

Clough Hall, Newnham College, 57, 64.

Club, the Newnham College, 67, 118.

College Hall (dining-hall), 63.

Combination Room, 85, 89.

Constitution of the College revised, 114.

Corfe, Miss K., 29.

Creak, Miss Edith, 25.

Creighton, Prof. M. (afterwards Bishop of Peterboro' and later of
London), 96.

Davies, Miss Emily, her aims, 15 _seq._; Head of College at Hitchin
and Girton, 16; working with Newnham for titles of degrees, 106.

Debating Society, 123 _seq._

Debating Society, Political, 124 _seq._

Degrees, titles of, movement for, 100;
defeated, 105.

Discipline, 132.

Dublin University (_see_ Trinity College).

Edward, Prince of Wales (King Edward VII.), 64.

Elementary Education, Newnham's interest in, 69 _seq._

Elles, Miss G. L., 94.

Ewart, Miss M. A., 28.

Extension Students, beginnings in Newnham, 71 _seq._

Fawcett, Prof. Henry, 12, 13.

Fawcett, Mrs. Millicent Garrett, 12, 13, 76.

Fawcett, Miss Philippa, 26, 76 _seq._

Fellow, changes in meaning of term, 116 _seq._

Fisher, Rt. Hon. H. A. L., 136.

Fountain in memory of Henry Sidgwick, 110.

Freund, Miss Ida, 38, 121 _seq._

Games and recreation, 128 _seq._

Gates, Memorial, 86, 87.

Girton College, 16, 46, 48, 51.

Gladstone, Miss Helen, 36 _seq._, 65, 66; retirement, 98.

Governing body, 92, 117.

Graces admitting women to Tripos examinations, 48 _seq._

Greenwood, Miss Marion (Mrs. Bidder), 38.

Gruner, Miss Alice, 74 _seq._

Harrison, Miss J. E., 29, 94.

Hitchin, College at, 16.

Hobson, Dr. E. W., 77.

Hudson, Prof. W. H. H., 24.

Hughes, Miss E. P., 69, 76.

Inter-collegiate lectures opened to women, 15, 40 _seq._

Jackson, Prof. H., 47.

Kennedy, Rev. Prof. B. H., 47.

Kennedy, Miss Marion G., 24, 27; Studentship in memory of, 64, 92;
appeal to the University, 103 _seq._; portrait, 79.

Kennedy Buildings, 99.

Keynes, Dr. J. N., Sec. to Cambridge Local Examinations syndicate, 11.

Kitchen, 63.

Laboratories: biological, 38; chemical, 37.

Larner, Miss F., 25.

Lee, Miss Jane, 65.

Library in the Old Hall, 38 _seq._; in New Hall, 89 _seq._

Little Go--_see_ Previous Examinations.

Local Examinations, 7, 9 _seq._, 11.

Local Lectures in Cambridge, 12.

London University admits women to degrees, 44 _seq._

Macmillan, Miss O. (Mrs. MacLehose), 67.

Maitland, Prof. F. W., 97.

Manchester University, 46.

Markby, Mr., 13.

Marshall, Prof. A., 14, 24.

Marshall, Mrs. A. (_née_ Paley), 19, 29, 74.

Maurice, Rev. Prof. F. D., 6.

Mayor, Rev. Prof. J. E. B., 14, 47.

Mays (Inter-collegiate Examinations), 42.

Merton Hall, 26.

Mill, John Stuart, a benefactor to women's education, 3.

Morant, Sir R. L., Educational Minister in Siam, 80.

More, Mrs. Hannah, advocates educational reform, 5.

Maria Grey Training College, 75.

Myers, F. W. H., on Northern Council, 9.

Newnham College, its beginnings, 1 _seq._; built, 28; Miss Clough
and students move into it, situation, early life, 31 _seq._;
Articles of Association, 33; Growth of buildings, 35 _seq._

Newnham Hall Company formed, 27; Amalgamation of Company with
Association, 33.

Newnham Letter, 67.

North Hall, 35, 37; _see also_ Sidgwick Hall.

North of England Council for Improving the Education of Women, 8.

Ogle, Miss Amy (Mrs. Koppel), 29.

Old Hall, 39, 65; _see also_ South Hall.

Paues, Miss Anna, 95.

Peile, Mrs. Annette, starts correspondence scheme, portrait in Peile
Hall, 11, 109.

Peile, Dr. John, Master of Christ's College, 13, 14, 47, 109.

Peile Hall, 63, 108 _seq._

Pensions to superannuated members of Staff, 118.

Pfeiffer, Mr. and Mrs., 85.

Pfeiffer Building, 37, 85.

Previous Examination (Little Go), 10, 17, 25, 47 _seq._

Queen's College, Harley Street, 6.

Rayleigh, Lord, 118.

Red House, the, 71.

Reid, Prof. J. S., 40.

Roll of the College, 118.

Ryle, Bishop H. E., 82.

Saunders, Miss E. R., 38, 95.

Schools, for girls formed, 6 _seq._

Schools Inquiry Commission, 7.

Scott, Miss C. A., of Girton, 44.

Sellers, Miss Maud, 95.

Senior Student, 133.

Settlement, University, in Southwark, 73 _seq._

Sewell, Miss M. A., 75.

Sharpe, Miss Julia, 67.

Sharpley, Miss E. M., Registrar, 118.

Sharpley, Miss M. M., 78.

Sidgwick, Arthur, collaborates in Life of Henry Sidgwick, 106.

Sidgwick, Prof. Henry, connection with Newnham, 2; on Association, 14;
finds a house for Students, 18; his character and influence, 20
_seq._, 30, 35, 55; in Principal's rooms in Newnham, 84; illness
and death, 106-7; Lectureship founded in his memory, 108, 127.

Sidgwick, Mrs. Henry (_née_ E. M. Balfour), 21; becomes
Vice-Principal, 36, 55; Principal, 84; life in Newnham, 87 _seq._;
portrait, 79; writes life of Prof. Sidgwick, 109; retires from
Principalship, 113; President of Council, 113.

Sidgwick Avenue, 86.

Sidgwick Hall, 39, 65, 99;
_see also_ Old Hall.

Skeat, Rev. Prof. W. W., 14.

Smith, Miss E. M. (Mrs. Bartlett), 95.

Smith, Sydney, a friend to women's education, 4.

Society of London Schoolmistresses, 8.

Societies of students, 66, 123 _seq._

South Hall, 35, 38, 57;
_see also_ Old Hall.

Stephen, Miss Katharine, 70, 79; Vice-Principal, 99; Principal, 113;
retirement, 138.

Stephen, Sir Leslie, lectures on literature, 99.

Stoney, Miss E. A., 127.

Students' rooms, changes in, 58 _seq._

Suffrage, Women's, 3 _seq._, 131 _seq._, 138.

Syndicate (Cambridge) for Local Lectures and Examinations, 11.

Temperley, Mrs. (_née_ Bradford), 95.

Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. Yates, 89.

Training College (Cambridge), 76.

Trinity College, Dublin, grants degrees to qualified Cambridge women
for a few years, 54, 111, 112.

Tripos Examinations--_see_ Graces.

Trotter, Rev. Coutts, 24, 47, 90.

Tutor, change of term, 118.

University Association of Women Teachers started by Miss A. J. Clough,
68.

University Library, women students admitted into, 41.

Venn, Dr. J., 14.

Visitor of the College, 118.

War work done by Newnham students, 137.

Winkworth, Mr. Stephen, 28, 58.

Winkworth, Mrs. Stephen, 28, 90.

Working men, school for, 69.

Young Men's Christian Association, lecture rooms in, 39.

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