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Female Founders of the University of Leicester

This entry includes a walking tour! Take the tour.

Introduction

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The University of Leicester owes its existence to the generosity of local people who gave their time, money, and energy to support the establishment of a higher education college in Leicester as a memorial to the First World War. This guided history walk will tell the story of some of the prominent women who played leading roles in our foundation and explore the places they lived and worked in. Along the way we will pass landmarks associated with key figures including philanthropist Annie Clephan and scientist and schoolmistress Mary Florence Rich.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland College was founded in 1921 in the wake of the First World War. The first group of full time students consisted of 10 women and one man. The students took classes in English, Latin, French, Geograph and Botany at the College, and attended lessons in other science subjects at the city's Technical College. There were a number of women among the early teaching staff, including Charlotte Measham (Botany), Gladys Sarson (Geography), and M. L. Chapuzet (Modern Languages).

The opening of the College was the culmination of four years of debate, organisation, and fundraising. The goal had been to establish a higher education in Leicester as what Dr Astley Clarke a 'living memorial' to the First World War. University history narratives tend to focus on a small number of familiar names: Dr Astley Clarke, Thomas Fielding Johnson, Sir Jonathan North, Dr Frederick Bennett. It has tended to be overlooked that around 40% of early donors (to July 1922) were women. They included prominent local philanthropists such as Annie Clephan, schoolteachers like Sarah Heron and Florence Rich, and leading local members of the movement for women’s suffrage such as Nellie Taylor and Dr Elizabeth Wilks. The first point of interest on our tour are the Lady North Memorial gates in Victoria Park, dedicated to the memory of Lady Kate Eliza North. 

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