St Hugh’s Hall was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth, great-niece of the poet, William Wordsworth, and Principal of Lady Margaret Hall. After occupying several properties, the main building was finally constructed on the present site during WWI. Since then, the College has expanded, both with purpose-built construction and the purchase of the Victorian houses that form the perimeter of the site which now covers 14 acres. Men first matriculated at St Hugh’s in 1987, having been accepted in the College’s centenary year, 1986.
The St. Hugh’s College archive is comprised of two collections:
The first collection is a traditional College archive containing material such as minute books, student records, papers relating to staff, fellows and alumni, a photograph collection and a variety of administrative records. We also have a collection of awards belonging to Aung San Suu Kyi but her papers are held at the Bodleian Library.
The second collection is more unusual. It consists of patient records from the Second World War, when St Hugh’s was requisitioned as a Military Hospital for Head Injuries, together with follow up material on brain injury research that was conducted with the veterans. Unfortunately, however, we do not have any administrative records of the hospital or any papers relating to surgeons or other medical staff.
Enquiries regarding the archives should be made to the Archivist, who can provide basic information, answer straightforward questions and provide a list of material available on a given topic, but who is unable to carry out detailed research on behalf of enquirers.
Access to both collections is by appointment only. The Head Hospital collection is subject to the normal period of closure for medical records but may be made available to close relatives of individual patients and to medical or historical researchers in the appropriate field.
Archivist: Matthew Chipping
Opening hours: Mondays, Tuesdays, and alternate Wednesdays (by appointment only)
Address: The Archivist, Howard Piper Library, St Hugh’s College, Oxford, OX2 6LE
Phone: 01865 613846
E-mail: archivist@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk
Further Reading:
Penny Griffin ed., St Hugh’s: One Hundred Years of Women’s Education in Oxford (Macmillan Press, 1986)
Laura Schwartz, A Serious Endeavour: Gender, education and community at St Hugh’s, 1886-2011 (Profile Books, 2011)
Ann Soutter, Mary Clapinson ed., St Hugh’s College Register 1886-1959 (St Hugh’s College, 2011)
