Elizabeth Jesser Reid 1789 – 1866
(nee Sturch)
Educationalist, abolitionist, philanthropist.
25 December 1789 – 1 April 1866
Education
Received a good level of education that included mathematics, reading, writing, Latin and Greek thanks to her intellectual father and his strong Unitarian beliefs.
Some Key Achievements and Interests
1849 Founded Ladies’ College at 47 Bedford Square the first institution in the UK to offer higher education to women. (Women, however, could not take a degree until 1878.) The Governing body of the College included women, a radical step at that time. NB Ladies’ College was renamed Bedford College in 1859.
Wanted the college to be non-denominational and offer a high level of education equivalent to that available for men. Subjects included those traditionally only studied by men eg the sciences, mathematics and Greek. Women from any class were accepted with tuition fees tailored to affordability and scholarships available for those without financial means. Reid also wanted women to be responsible for the governing of the College.
Her aim for the College was to educate women to be better mothers and wives rather than to prepare them for employment. Courses later developed to offer training that enabled women to follow professional paths. From 1890 teacher training courses were offered and also courses in public health and hygiene.
1853 Realising that the standard of education many women students had did not prepare them well for higher education, opened Bedford College School to prepare students for higher education.
Anti-slavery activist, attended Anti-Slavery Convention 1840.
Issues
Monied and with connections but widowed only a year after her marriage, Reid was reluctant to have to fall back on the support of men but acknowledged they were in a position to help her achieve her goals.
A strong Unitarian, her beliefs informing her vision for the College, opened her to criticism of unorthodoxy.
The College accepted girls from the age of 12. So, levels of education and maturity varied considerably with younger girls not being ready for higher education.
Men had to be appointed as professors and lecturers at the College while women gained the education and training they needed to fill these roles. However, chaperones had to be found to be present when men lecturing.
Reid was averse to publicising the College believing it would advertise itself but attracted few students in its early days. The College consequently struggled financially.
At the outset the government was in the hands of two committees: The Ladies Committee and the General Committee. The latter committee included some male professors and lay people and the three Trustees of the College. Problems arose with the professors being unwilling to be directed by ‘unqualified’ women and the women failing to conform to the rules. resulting in the General Committee (later the Council) taking over as the governing body. The Ladies Committee continued to supervise the work of the Lady Visitors being responsible for the students’ welfare and acting as their chaperones.
Duties of the Lady Visitors:
Every Visitor will endeavour to uphold decorum and silence in the Institution, and maintain in her Class Room attention and punctuality.
With a view to the health of the Pupils, the Lady Visitors are requested to direct their attention to the ventilation and the general comfort of the rooms.
It is hoped that the Young Ladies will look to the Lady Visitors as Friends, to whom they may come for advice and assistance.
Many women had to continue to live at home and were only able to attend courses part-time. Until 1878, when the University of London first allowed women to graduate, they were also unable to obtain degrees.
Personality: Reid tended to be impulsive, and her manner at times considered offensive, alienating her from those who would otherwise have supported her.
Connection to Bloomsbury
Resident of Bloomsbury (see green plaque on her house at 48 Bedford Square).
Ladies’ College and Bedford College School founded in Bloomsbury.
Female networks
Close friend: Eliza Bostock.
Harriet Beecher Stowe to whom she offered hospitality when she came to England to speak about slavery.
Sarah Parker Remond who she offered accommodation to when Remond was touring Britain and lecturing on slavery, the first black woman to do so. Remond went on to study at Bedford College.
Anna Jameson, Lady Anne Romilly, Anna Swanwick, Florence Nightingale, Harriet Martineau, Jane Martineau, Julia Smith, Sophia de Morgan.
Ladies’ College/ Bedford College Alumni include (from Reid’s time) Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon, George Eliot, Sophie Bryant
Further reading:
Elisabeth Jesser Reid | University of London
September 2019 – Archives Hub Blog (jisc.ac.uk)
Elizabeth Jesser Reid papers – Archives Hub (jisc.ac.uk)
Ashton, R. Victorian Bloomsbury London 2012
UCL Leverhulme-funded Bloomsbury Project website, www.ucl.ac.uk/bloomsbury-project.UCL Bloomsbury Project
Bedford College Papers – Archives Hub (jisc.ac.uk)
Royal Holloway University of London – Archive Collections – Details