Cheltenham Ladies College
Who did Constance Maynard work for from 1876 to 1877?
Constance Maynard Constance Louisa Maynard ( 9 February 1849 – 26 March 1935 ) was the first principal of Westfield College ( 1882–1913 ) and a pioneer of womens education . She was the first woman to read Moral Sciences ( philosophy ) at the University of Cambridge . Early life . Constance Maynard was born in 1849 in Highbury , Middlesex to an upper-middle-class family . She was one of four daughters and two sons of Henry Maynard ( 1780-1888 ) a South African merchant , and his wife Louisa née Hillyard ( 1806-1878 ) . She grew up in Hawkhurst , Kent , in the house of Oakfield . Her two brothers attended boarding school , while she and her sisters were educated at home by governesses , except for one year at Belstead School in Suffolk . When their education was considered complete , she and her sisters cared for her invalid mother and did charitable work . Studies of Maynards autobiography reveal that she suppressed her carnal desires to achieve salvation . Education and career . In 1872 at the age of 23 , Constance Maynard enrolled at Hitchin College for women which was affiliated with the University of Cambridge and was to become Girton College in 1873 . She was the first woman to study the Moral Sciences tripos and in 1875 received the equivalent of a second class honours degree . After leaving Girton , due to a temporary crisis in the family business , Constance Maynard was allowed to accept an invitation from Assistant Mistress Frances Dove to join the staff of Cheltenham Ladies College . In 1877 she left with her colleague and friend Louisa Lumsden to establish St Leonards School , at St Andrews , where Lumsden was head . During her three years ( 1877-1880 ) here , she rejected offers of headships , including that of her former school Belstead . She also refused a marriage proposal from Scottish Minister Dr James Robertson . In 1880 she moved to London with her brother and studied part-time at the Slade School of Fine Art . Whilst studying there she became involved with a group of individuals including Major Charles Hamilton Malan , Ann Dudin Brown and Caroline Cavendish , with the shared aim of establishing a ladies college . Constance Maynard was an integral part of forming the plans for her ideal college - to prepare ladies for the London degree , based on Christian principles . The group first met for discussions in February 1882 , and in May Constance Maynard was offered the position of Mistress ( a title borrowed from Girton ) . The rapid progress was possible because the Petrie family had introduced Ann Dudin Brown who funded the colleges foundation.← In October 1882 Westfield College opened in two private houses in Hampstead . It was one of the first higher education institutions for women in England and one of the first in which women could gain degrees . Constance Maynard remained Mistress of Westfield for 33 years , retiring in 1913 . She had taught around 500 students , and many were successful working in schools , colleges and for missionary organisations . She kept in close contact with her old students through letters and visits , and maintained strong relationships with them . The money they collected as a parting gift she donated to the college ; some was used as a hardship fund , the remainder as endowment for the Maynard divinity lectures ( from 1915 , later the Maynard-Chapman Divinity Lectures ) . In 1888 Maynard adopted a child through a friend in the Salvation Army . At the time of her adoption Stephanë Anthon , known as Effie , was eight years old , and the relationship between them was a difficult one . Whilst Constance continued to support Effie until her death in 1915 , from tuberculosis , it is detailed in her diaries as a period of disappointment . Religious movements such as the Salvation Army figured prominently in the life of Constance Maynard . She was elected as old students representative to the governing body of Girton College and served from 1897 to about 1905 on the council of the Church Schools Society . After her retirement , Constance Maynard spent her time travelling , receiving visitors , reading and writing . She wrote poetry , religious lectures and pamphlets of a moral or spiritual nature . She also edited collections of Dora Greenwells poetry . Her unpublished writings including an unfinished autobiography have been digitised by the Archives at Queen Mary , University of London and are available to view online : http://www.library.qmul.ac.uk/archives/digitised-records/constance-maynard/ . Constance Maynard died at her home in Gerrards Cross , Buckinghamshire , on 26 March 1935 , and was buried at Gerrards Cross parish church on 29 March . Westfield college received £1500 in her will to fund an entrance scholarship . Publications . - Between College Terms , 1910 - The Religious Training of Immaturity , National Sunday School Union , 1923 - The Kingdom of Heaven is like... , RTS , 1924 - We Women . A Golden Hope , Morgan and Scott , 1924 - The Perfect Law of Liberty , RTS , 1925 - Dora Greenwell : a prophet for our own time on the battleground of our faith , 1926 - Progressive Creation , SPCK , 1927 - Then shall we Know , SPCK , 1927 - The Prophet Daniel and other essays , Morgan and Scott 1927