page_title: Alexandra College
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Alexandra College / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Alexandra Schools on a much-changed Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin... The buildings on the right are Alexandra College which was founded in 1874 at No.6 Earlsfort Terrace. By 1879, a new hall and theater was constructed alongside. Over time, they acquired several more houses and by 1889 a new building by William Kaye-Parry was constructed next door to the college as Alexandra School. In 1972, the school and college relocated to Dartry and the entire site cleared – by this time, it was almost all of one side of Earlsfort Terrace. The site sat empty for some years before being developed as a hotel and office complex. A building by Lanyon, Lynn &amp; Lanyon at No.12 was also demolished at this time. The building on the left was was built by the The Dublin Exhibition Palace and Winter Garden Company for the 1865 exhibition - The heir to the throne, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, to rapturous enthusiasm, performed the grand opening, on 9 May 1865. In all a huge 930,000 visitors attended the Exhibition between 9 May and 9 November. The Company arranged special railway and other concessions and the Palace was equipped with a telegraph centre, post office branch, railway office, and facilities for a large number of international newspapers. Many thanks to [/photos/gnmcauley/ Niall McAuley] [/photos/75556178@N05/ Inverarra] [/photos/eyelightfilms/ eyelightfilms] [/photos/8468254@N02/ derangedlemur] [/photos/87929309@N02/ D.G-S] and [/photos/129555378@N07/ sharon.corbet] for their valued contributions. Photographer: Robert French Collection: The Lawrence Photograph Collection Date: Circa 1890 NLI Ref: L_ROY_04824 You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
context_page_description: Alexandra College is an independent boarding and day school for girls located in Milltown, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under a Church of Ireland ethos.
context_section_description: The school was founded in 1866 and takes its name from Princess Alexandra of Denmark, the school's patron. The school colours, red and white, were adopted from the Danish flag in her honour. Alexandra College was founded by Ann Jellicoe, a Quaker educationist, in the name of furthering women's education. Under Anne Jellicoe, and then later Henrietta White, the school grew from a small establishment focused on providing a governess-style education to Irish Protestant ladies into a pioneering force for women's rights and education, providing an education to women equivalent to that available in boys' schools, with a grounding in mathematics, history, classics and philosophy. As Alexandra settled into its role, Anne Jellicoe was convinced that a major obstacle to the liberal education of women was their exclusion from the university campus. She passionately believed that until women were admitted to Trinity College Dublin (founded in 1592), the voice of women would not commonly be heard in politics, literature or in academic debate.
  The Royal University of Ireland Act 1879 allowed females to take university degrees on the same basis as males. Students were prepared for the examinations (including degree examinations) of the Royal University. Susan Parkes, co-author of Gladly Learn and Gladly Teach, a history of Alexandra College (1866-1966), is quoted as saying: "In the late 1800s, lecturers from Trinity College Dublin provided tuition for ladies on the Alexandra campus. And the first women to receive degrees in Ireland or Britain were Alex pupils — six of them successfully studied at Dublin's Royal University from 1891 and at Trinity College Dublin, once it opened its doors to women in 1903."
  The school was originally situated in the historic Earlsfort Terrace, across from what is now the National Concert Hall. By 1879, a new hall and theatre were constructed alongside. Over time, the school acquired several more houses and by 1889 a new building by William Kaye-Parry was constructed next door to the college as Alexandra School. The school moved out to its sports grounds in the 1960s in order to accommodate more students. The original buildings were subsequently demolished and the site remained vacant for over two decades. The Conrad Hotel and office buildings were later erected on the site.
  Patrick Pearse, the leader of the Easter Rising, was once employed as an Irish language teacher.
caption: Alexandra College (on right) c. 1890
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