St Hilda's College, Oxford

St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.

The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2008.

The college is located at the eastern end of the High Street, Oxford, over Magdalen Bridge, in Cowley Place. Its grounds include six major buildings, which contain student accommodation, teaching areas, dining hall, the library and administration blocks: Hall, South, Milham Ford, Wolfson, Garden, and the Christina Barratt Building (opened in 2001). In addition, the Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building is a concert venue named after the famous cellist who was an honorary fellow of the college. The college also owns a number of properties on Iffley Road, and in the Cowley area. It is the most conveniently situated Oxford college for the Iffley Road Sports Complex, a focus for Oxford University Sport.

The college grounds stretch along the banks of the River Cherwell, with many college rooms overlooking the river and playing fields beyond. The college has its own fleet of punts, which students of the college may hire for free in summer months. Unfortunately, this location has at times led to problems with flooding in Milham Ford building.

The current Principal is Sheila Forbes, CBE, a graduate of the college, who took up the post in 2007.

As of 2006, the college had an estimated financial endowment of £39 million.

The college is named after the important Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby.

History
Founded in 1893, St Hilda's College was originally an Oxford Hall for women. It was founded by Dorothea Beale, who was also a headmistress at Cheltenham Ladies' College as a women's college, a status it retained until 2008. While the other Oxford colleges gradually became co-educational, no serious debate at St Hilda's occurred until 1997, according to a former vice-principal, and then the debate solely applied to the issue of staff appointments. After a vote on 7 June 2006 by the Governing Body, men and women can be admitted as fellows and students. The first male undergraduate and graduate students commenced their studies in October 2008.

The Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building
The Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building (JdP) is a part of St Hilda's College. Named after British cellist Jacqueline Du Pré, an honorary fellow of the College, the JdP was the first purpose-built concert hall to be built in Oxford since the Holywell Music Room in 1742. Built in 1995, it houses the Steinway-equipped Edward Boyle Auditorium and a number of music practice rooms. In addition to frequent recitals presented by the St Hilda's Music Society, the JdP also hosts concerts by a number of world renowned performers. Musicians who have performered in the JdP in recent years include Steven Isserlis, the Jerusalem Quartet, the Chilingirian Quartet and the Belcea Quartet. The building has also been used for amateur dramatic performances, since 2008 St Hilda's College Drama Society have been producing several plays a year in the Edward Boyle Auditorium.

Documentary

 * St Hilda's students were the subject of the Channel 4 documentary series College Girls, broadcast in 2002.

Notable alumnae

 * Zeinab Badawi, BBC journalist
 * Susan Blackmore parapsychologist, writer and broadcaster
 * Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, royalty
 * D. K. Broster, historical novelist
 * Mikita Brottman, author, psychoanalyst
 * Susanna Clarke, author
 * Wendy Cope, poet
 * Miriam Defensor Santiago, Philippine senator, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee
 * Barbara Everett, academic
 * Helen Gardner, critic
 * Adele Geras, writer
 * Susan Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, academic
 * Catherine Heath, novelist
 * Meg Hillier, politician
 * Bettany Hughes, historian
 * Jenny Joseph, poet
 * Hermione Lee, critic and biographer
 * Elizabeth Levett, historian
 * Margaret MacMillan, historian and Warden of St Antony's College
 * Val McDermid, novelist
 * Rosalind Miles, writer
 * Kate Millett, feminist author
 * Elizabeth Neville, police officer
 * Katherine Parkinson, actress
 * Barbara Pym, novelist
 * Betty Radice, translator and editor
 * Gillian Rose, philosopher
 * Jacqueline Rose, academic and writer
 * Sheila Rowbotham
 * Gillian Shephard, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, politician
 * Ann Thwaite, biographer
 * Tsuda Umeko, educator
 * Cecil Woodham-Smith, historian


 * See also Alumni of St Hilda's College.

Academics/teachers

 * Heather Bell
 * Mary Bennett
 * Helen Gardner
 * Elspeth Kennedy
 * Barbara Levick
 * Beryl Smalley
 * Helen Waddell
 * Kathy Wilkes

Honorary fellows

 * Jacqueline Du Pré
 * Rosalyn Tureck