No . 131 The Trusty Servant
Some historical context
William of Wykeham ’ s view was simple . His statutes would admit only of one female , a washerwoman who should ‘ be of such age and condition as to be most unlikely to excite any sinister suspicion .’ The phrase was copied by other educational institutions .
When Reformation canon law enabled priests to marry , the Warden snuck in first . The first woman to reside in College was the wife of Warden Bilson . The change was not to everyone ’ s taste for it drew against Bilson the accusation that he was non-collegiate , and too interested in his own creature comforts . Mrs Bilson wished him home for meals , leading to the famous rhyme of protest .
The Gospel shines , Rome ’ s superstitions cease Away , Collegiate Chambers , Chapels , Halls – A private speaks soft of private peace . Hark , the gong sounds , and Mrs Bilson calls .
The tables were turned ( metaphorically ) in 1935 , when Second Master Monty Wright married , and the Governing Body gave consent for his wife , Joan , to take lunch in Hall with the boys .
What the new institution of the clerical wife could obtain in the 16 th century was denied in the next century even to the mistress of a monarch . When the court moved to Winchester , Charles II wished Nell Gwyn to move with him , and to reside in the Close . ‘ Glory to thee , my God , this night for all the blessings of the light ,’ once wrote Prebendary ( later Bishop ) Thomas Ken , OW . Ken would have none of it , refusing to surrender his house in the Close to the royal mistress .
Reform slumbered until the 19 th century when the College and its headmasters became early proponents of educational opportunities for women . Charlotte Moberly , daughter of the Headmaster , was the first Principal of St Hugh ’ s College , Oxford , which was co-founded by Elizabeth Wordsworth , daughter of Moberly ’ s Second Master . Moberly ’ s successor , and son-in-law , George Ridding , was an early proponent of women ’ s education . Indeed Winchester ’ s Victorian women were extraordinary campaigners . They included : the founder of the Mothers ’ Union , Mary Sumner ; Josephine Butler , opponent of the iniquitous Contagious Diseases Act ; and Laura Ridding , George ’ s second wife , who insisted on being seated with the headmasters whenever HMC held its conference at Winchester .
The earliest discussion of the admission of girls at Winchester was in 1899 in the retirement speech of Second Master George Richardson . The issue remained a live one in a school known for progressive thinking . When the first public school admitted girls , Marlborough College in 1968 , it did so under a Headmaster , John Dancy , who was an OW and former don . New College , Oxford , the second part of Wykeham ’ s original foundation , admitted girls in 1979 , stimulating considerable debate . James Sabben-Clare ’ s history recalls that ‘ The cry for co-education was loudly raised in 1965 , following word of New College ’ s intention to take in female students , and has been heard intermittently ever since . Today , a straw poll would probably find a large majority of boys and teachers favouring the change in principle . It will not happen in the immediate future , but a successor to George Richardson might reckon that there was a good chance of his prophecy being fulfilled before the century was out .’
The first recorded staff daughter to be educated at Winchester was Zoe Traill , who came in Short Half 1979 to prepare for the 7 th term Oxford entrance examinations to study medicine at Keble College . But though not quite Founder ’ s Kin , she did not lack Wykehamical connections : her brother was in Beloe ’ s , her uncle was Tommy Cookson and her mother Pauline later became a don at the school .
Close readers of November ’ s Trusty Servant will remember Richard Gliddon ( Co Ro , 65-69 ) recalling the first female pupils 13 years earlier , brought in to help test the A-level Nuffield course : ‘ I was lucky enough to be the first teacher of the class which included … four bright girls from Winchester County High School . They all gained high grades at every stage and one went on to read Medicine at Cambridge . At first the boys said , “ Of course girls do well , but they just work all the time ”, but they were forced to amend their prejudices when one of the girls asked to be away for an international hockey trial .’
The appointment of James Sabben- Clare as Headmaster in 1985 was made on the understanding that he would make the school entirely co-educational , a plan which foundered on the availability of suitable buildings . Wolvesey Palace was to become a girls ’ boarding house , but the Church got cold feet . The Governing Body reconsidered the matter in 2005 , narrowly deciding to maintain the status quo , but determining to revisit the issue at least every ten years . There has been periodic but systematic reconsideration of the issue at Governing-Body level ever since . The current discussion began in December 2019 and reached a conclusion in December 2020 .
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