To celebrate International Women’s History Month, we’ve been looking back at pioneering women in CLC history.
Since our doors opened in 1853, it’s been our mission to encourage curiosity and inspire young women in education.
Thousands of women from the CLC community have gone on to do incredible things. Here are some pioneering individuals who have helped pave the way for change and inclusivity.
Lucy Willis was an English haematologist and physician teacher who attended CLC from 1903.
After leaving CLC, Lucy went on to study natural sciences and botany at Newnham College, Cambridge, and in 1928, she travelled to India where she conducted research on macrocytic anaemia of pregnancy. Her work led her to discover a nutritional element in yeast which both prevents and cures the disorder.
What became known as the ‘Wills factor’, was shown to be folate, the naturally occurring form of folic acid. The term ‘Wills factor’ became a phrase after Lucy improved a lab monkey’s health by feeding it Marmite which contains yeast extract.
Lucy Willis was even celebrated as a Google Doodle for her 131st birthday!
Agnes Tschetschulin was a Finnish composer who studied violin from an early age and went on to study at the Helsinki Music Institute as one of their first pupils. Here she performed violin and piano concertos, alongside her own compositions at the Institutes concerts. Agnes became one of the first of four students to receive a graduation certificate in 1885.
In the autumn term of that year, she went on to study at the Royal Academy of Berlin (now the Berlin University of the Arts). Agnes studied there for four years and from her second year studied violin and ensemble playing with violinist Joseph Joachim. She also studied composition with Woldemar Bargiel. Here Agnes Tschetschulin again excelled at her studies: she was awarded government grants and her many accolades, concerts and compositions were reported in the Finnish press.
It was in Berlin that Agnes met fellow violin virtuoso Marie Soldat who was a member of the inner circle of Joachim and Johannes Brahms. In 1887, Marie established a string quartet of rising stars and Agnes was invited to play second violin. Another pioneering milestone was achieved as this group was billed as the world’s first professional female string quartet and had the distinction of being managed by the Herman Wolff agency. Agnes spent the next couple of years touring Germany with the quartet and also began to publish her own compositions.
She began her connection with CLC in the autumn of 1891 and took over the duties of the previous violin teacher in 1893. At this time, CLC was renowned for its musical education, with day pupils coming from Stroud, Cirencester, Worcester, Marlborough and Birmingham. They were known as ‘bye-students’, meaning that they were beyond the age of studying the ‘regular’ curriculum but were allowed to attend music lessons and other College lectures as a means of accessing continuing education at a time when there was little opportunity to do this.
Agnes was considered to be a ‘draw’ for musical students to attend College, and is mentioned in the College prospectuses where her European qualifications were also emphasised.
During her time here, Agnes managed to persuade Dorothea Beale to charge pupils the same fee per lesson as male colleagues.
In 1904, she resigned from College and moved to London where she established herself as a freelance musician, composer and teacher. At this time, she also became a British citizen. She returned to Finland in the early 1920s and lived the rest of her life as a female musical pioneer, making a living by teaching the violin, ensemble playing and composing until well into her old age.
Rowena Cade was a famous architect who built the Minack Theatre in Porthcurno, Cornwall. She studied at CLC from 1908.
She found and bought the Minack headland for £100 in the 1920s, where she built a home and lived with her sister and partner. In 1929, Rowena put on a production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, and soon after, she began looking for a location for a permanent outdoor stage.
With the help of her gardener, Rowena built the theatre herself. It took six months to build and the first performance was Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’, in the summer of 1932. The stage lighting was made from used car batteries and headlights.
Found just a few miles from Land’s End, The Minack Theatre is carved into the cliffs of Porthcurno, and has been featured in several BBC programmes.
Jane Ellen Harrison was known for writing articles and books about Ancient Greek religion and mythology, including the ‘Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion’ (1903).
Jane started CLC in 1867 aged 16, and after she left, she passed the University of London Examinations with Honours in 1870, passing Special Certificates in German, Greek, Latin, Chemical and Natural Philosophy and Political Economy. CLC bestowed on Jane the honour of 'Associate of the College'.
She then passed the University of Cambridge Higher Local Examinations with distinction in Divinity, Latin and Greek and honours in French before going to Newnham College. In 1879 she attained Honour Standard in an informal examination for the Classical Tripos.
She was also awarded an MA from the University of London in 1888 and Honorary Doctorates from the University of Aberdeen, in 1895 and the University of Durham in 1897. Jane returned to Newnham as a classical fellow in 1898 where she remained until her retirement in 1922.
There are several references to Jane in College magazines. The 1910 edition described her as “extremely clever”, noting “her Scripture exercise was a weekly delight to Miss Beale” who would read passages from them. Students “listened in silent and undisguised admiration.”
Jane wrote her autobiography ‘Reminiscences of a Student’s Life’ in 1925. There have also been several biographies written about her including Mary Beard’s ‘The Invention of Jane Harrison’ and Annabel Robinson’s ‘The Life and Work of Jane Ellen Harrison’.
Dr Janet Salsbury was a distinguished musician and composer. She was a music bye-student at College from c1893 and a member of College staff from 1899-1926.
In 1895, Janet passed the Associated Board's Local Schools Exam Higher Division with a distinction in Harmony, and in 1896 she passed the Senior Grade exam with Honours in Harmony, aged 14. She was the youngest candidate to have passed both of these exams.
Janet was awarded a Mus.Bac then a Doctor of Music by the University of Durham in 1906 and 1910 respectively. She was the first woman to take the degree at Durham and only the 3rd woman in England to have a Dr of Music conferred on them.
Dr Salsbury composed several pieces of music including the 'Ballad of Evesham' which was performed by the Evesham Choral Society in 1908, and in 1914 she wrote 'Analysis of Mozart's 22 Pianoforte Sonatas'.
During her time at College, Dr Salsbury was the College organist, and in 1917 she was awarded the Diploma of the Fellowship of Royal College of Organists.
Muriel Robb was an English female tennis player who attended CLC from 1893 - 1897. She is most well known for her ladies’ singles title at the 1902 Wimbledon Championships.
Between 1899 and 1902, Muriel participated in four Wimbledon Championships; reaching at least the quarterfinals on all occasions, alongside winning the Irish and Scottish singles titles in 1901 and the Welsh singles title in 1899.
Muriel Robb played more games in her final than any other woman in history.
