Women Gardeners in Early 20th Century Britain: Three Wardens at Lady Warwick’s College, Studley

Abstract

This paper explores the development of the new profession of women gardeners in early 20th-century Britain focusing on a horticultural school, Lady Warwick’s College, Studley. The College was founded by the Countess of Warwick, Frances Evelyn Greville (1861-1938) in Reading in 1898, when it was initially known as the Lady Warwick Hostel. The college moved to Studley Castle in 1903. It offered a high standard of practical training and education for women in horticulture and ‘the lighter branches of agriculture’. The paper looks at the experience of one Japanese horticultural student, Taki Handa, and their view of Lady Warwick College from 1906 to 1908. The paper also looks at how the college developed to offer professional training and education for women, and especially considers the period of the first three wardens: Edith Bradley, 1898-1905; Mabel Faithfull, 1905-1908; and Lillias Hamilton, M.D., 1908-1922. The paper looks at how these first three warden’s tenure periods (1898-1922) involved dynamic social change for women in Britain, especially during the First World War. The paper evaluates the women who attend this college, who might be referred to as “a new-fashioned woman gardener in breeches and such-like” (by Agatha Christie in 1920) or “the Daughters of Ceres”.departmental bulletin pape