Celebrating the 100-year anniversary of our Royal Charter

^{Annual Report Charter 1924 (archive reference: GCCP1-1)}

It's been 100 years since Girton College was granted its Charter by King George V on 21 August 1924. Girton is distinctive for being the first residential institution for the higher education of women in England, and our determination to offer everyone – whoever they are and whatever their background – remains a driving force of our mission. Today, Girton College is a permanent institution within the world-class University of Cambridge, where students have the opportunity to find their own pioneering pathway. Read on to discover more about the Royal Charter and our Founders.

Royal Charter

The Charter effectively put the governance of the College and the ownership of its properties in the hands of ‘The Mistress and Governors’. They were to have a common seal, and full powers to accept, acquire, and hold property and land. Their task was ‘to provide a liberal education for women by carrying on the work of the Old Association (the Association hitherto known as Girton College) with such modifications and changes as may from time to time appear desirable either in its present situation or elsewhere in the Town of Cambridge or County of Cambridge’. 

The Charter stated that the Governors were to be: the Mistress; all Staff Fellows (as defined by the Statutes); a number of Research Fellows (as prescribed by the Statutes); a number (to be prescribed by the Statutes) to be elected from the Senate of the University of Cambridge; a number (to be prescribed by Statues) ‘not being Staff Fellows or Research Fellow’, to be elected by Students of the College to whom degree certificates had been conferred (i.e. former students); ‘additional persons as may be elected by the Governors (as prescribed by the Statutes)’; and ‘Friends of the College’. In 1924, there were 35 Governors in total, listed by name in the First Schedule of the Charter. 

The Charter also established a new Council, whose members were to be the Mistress; the Vice-Mistress; the Bursar; Staff Fellows and Research Fellows (to be elected from the Governors as prescribed by the Statutes); and Governors (other than Staff Fellows and Research Fellows as prescribed by the Statutes). 

Although prior to 1924 there were two precedents of the title ‘Fellow’ being used within College, the Charter established the office of a Girton Fellow, comparable (though different) to its modern equivalent. Under the Charter, those who were previously known as members of the ‘Girton Staff’ (generally the ‘Resident Staff’) become known as Staff Fellows. Article 46 of the Charter set out three classes of Fellows: Staff Fellows; Research Fellows; and Honorary Fellows. The Staff Fellows were the Vice-Mistress, Bursar and ‘such other officers of the College as shall be appointed by the Council to be Staff Fellows’. 

The Charter also established the office of Visitor. The College’s first Visitor was the Chancellor of Cambridge University, Arthur James Balfour (1848-1930), 1st Earl of Balfour. He held the office from 1924 until his death in 1930.

^{Charter page 1 (archive reference: GCGB1-1-2pt)}

Coat of Arms 

To reflect its new governing structure, the College applied for a coat of arms, which was granted in 1928. The design was chosen to represent the family coats of arms of the key founders and benefactors of the College. Because Emily Davies’ family had no coat of arms, the green and white colours of the Girton design were chosen to reflect her Welsh ancestry. Barbara Bodichon is represented by the ermine roundels taken from her father’s family coat of arms (Smith). The cross dividing the shield into four is from the arms of Henry Tomkinson, while the red crescents are from the family arms of Henrietta, Lady Stanley of Alderley (Dillon).

^{The Girton key shields painted by Rev E E Dorling as used in the coat of arms designed by him, 1927 (archive reference: GCRF 6/1/26)}

Those who founded the College risked everything to secure women’s access to education, politics and the professions. Their fearlessness in the face of adversity is a quality that endures, inspiring students from all walks of life.

Emily Davies 

Emily Davies (1830–1921) was a suffragist, immersed in the mid 19th-century women’s movement. Her vision for women’s education, and her uncompromising commitment to excellence, inspired the foundation of Girton College. From 1872 to 1875, she was the fourth Mistress of the College, but drove its agenda from the foundation to 1904. In contrast to some of her peers, Emily Davies was tenacious in her insistence that women should study the same courses and sit the same exams under the same timetable as Cambridge men. In late 1872 and early 1873 the first Girtonians took Tripos examinations (unofficially). All passed, proving Emily Davies’s conviction correct.

Barbara Bodichon 

Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (1827–1891), artist, feminist, journalist and prominent campaigner for law reform and women’s rights was both a founder and a funder of the College. Unconventional, enthusiastic and charming, she was a long-standing friend of Emily Davies, and Girton’s largest early benefactor. She gave £1,000 to the initial fund, lent a further £5,000 in 1884, and then left the College £10,000 in her will in 1891. Though Barbara Bodichon’s generosity was crucial to Girton’s foundation and survival, her involvement went well beyond financial affairs. She took a particular interest in the health and comfort of the students and the decoration of the new buildings. Many of the paintings she donated still hang on the College’s walls today.

^{(Left) Portrait of Emily Davies by Rudolf Lehmann, 1880 (archive reference: GCPH 5/4/2)
(Right) Portrait of Barbara Bodichon by Emily Osborn, not dated (archive reference: GCPH 11/33/31)}

Lady Stanley of Alderley and Henry Tomkinson 

Girton was created by the hard work and generosity of a campaigning group of women and men. Particularly important were Henry Tomkinson (1831–1906), and Henrietta, Lady Stanley of Alderley (1807–1895); in time both would be immortalised in the College coat of arms. Lady Stanley, a wealthy widow, was passionate in her support, and left her mark on key elements of the estate. Among her gifts, she funded the first College ‘chemical laboratory’ in 1877, and gave £1,000 towards the first Library, named after her in 1895. Here, students are at work in the Stanley Library. Henry Tomkinson was a wise and trusted friend to Emily Davies, Treasurer of the College from 1869 to 1875, and its loyal supporter until his death. A former Cambridge ‘Wrangler’ (a top student in mathematics) he brought financial acumen and many useful contacts to the cause.

^{Students studying in the Stanley Library, 1902 (archive reference: GCPH 2/5/6)}

^{A glimpse of our pioneering history}

Discover the full timeline here.