Educating girls wasn’t a priority in Victorian England but the pioneering founder of St Swithun’s School in Winchester helped to change that in Hampshire. By the end of the 19th century its female pupils were studying not just reading and writing but science, economics, engineering and money management.
A feisty spirit was encouraged among pupils: when school buildings were requisitioned for troops during the two world wars, the girls played and beat Canadian soldiers at lacrosse and taught GIs to play cricket. St Swithun’s archivist Elly Crookes talks to Julie Dypdal about the school’s eventful history and its fascinating archives - which include letters from Christina Rosetti and William Wilberforce.
Elly Crookes
Elly Crookes has recently joined St Swithun’s as their School Archivist. It was thanks to a generous donation from a member of the school’s alumni which provided the opportunity for the school to employ a professional archivist, Elly is currently carrying out a survey of the school’s historical collection. As the records have been catalogued by her so much information has been uncovered, much of it that has never been revealed before. The school is keen to share it with the wider community, continue reading to find out more about their plans to share their fascinating history.
St Swithun’s School
St Swithun’s is an independent school for girls that was founded in 1884 by Anna Bramston, the daughter of Revd John Bramston, the Dean of Winchester. With her close friend Amélie LeRoy they established Winchester High School for Girls (the precursor to St. Swithun’s) which offered a progressive curriculum that provided opportunities for young Victorian women to continue onto higher education. The original school was on Southgate Street but grew so much in popularity that in 1932 they moved to a larger site on Alresford Road where they have been ever since.
Further Information and Useful Links
To see more pictures and get more updates from the St Swithun’s Archive visit their Twitter page. They are running a digital puzzle challenge where the puzzles are of items from their collection. They were inspired by the Cooper Gallery in Barnsley to do this and they run a competition in school for pupils, parents and staff to see who can complete the puzzle in the fastest time. The aim is for more people to know more about their collection and the exciting items they have within it. They post these puzzles every week on Twitter.
If you wish to know more about the school, check out their website. You can also find the piece written by Elly, ‘St Swithun’s During the Two World Wars’, which she referenced during the episode.
Correction:
In the episode, we mention that the school opened on 5th September 1884. However, it actually opened on 5th May 1884 and we have added a footnote to the transcript with this correction as well.