St Hilda's College
St Hilda's College is very excited to share the images from the Centenary of the 1927 Women’s Boat race and early women’s rowing at Oxford exhibition.
This exhibition contains documents from the archives of the original all women’s colleges in Oxford. These items celebrate the upcoming centenary of the first women’s Oxford and Cambridge boat race held in March 1927. These early records, including trophies, photographs and correspondence chart the development of student rowing as a key feature of student life and show how the 1927 race captured peoples imaginations.
Captions written by Kate O’ Donnell (Archivist at Somerville), Matthew Chipping ( Archivist at St Hughs and St Annes) and Oliver Mahony ( Archivist at St Hilda’s and Lady Margaret Hall).
With huge thanks to the participating Colleges for collaborating with St Hilda's on this exciting exhibition.
St Hugh’s student Gwen Vaughan rowing on the river, Summer 1915
At this time students had to pass a test to become a ‘sculling half-captain’ which meant they could take a boat out with other half-captains. Only after passing another test to become a full captain could they take a boat out without any others. This applied to sculling boats, punts and canoes.
With the kind permission of the Principal and Fellows of St Hugh’s College, Oxford
Somerville College Boat Club Sculling Competition Second Boat cup
“A boat has been started – a hired boat, it is true, but still a boat, - on the Cherwell, and considerable progress has already been made in the arts of rowing, sculling and steering”.
Somerville Students’ Association Report, Annual Oxford Letter, 1889
The first Somerville students went out on the river in the mid-1880s, and the college got its first boat in 1889. The boat club grew rapidly and members enjoyed rowing, sculling and punting. While racing was not permitted until the 1930s, students found other ways to compete, through sculling and bump races in canoes.
With kind permission of the Principal and Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford
Lady Margaret Hall Boat Club [LMHBC] Minute Book [1899-1957]
The rules of the recently formed boat club as recorded in an entry from 1899. The rules stipulated who could access the boats, swimming requirements for rowers and the role of the captain.
The following page further outlined that Captains be required to sign their names when they take boats out and it was their responsibility to ensure the safe conduct of the crew and that the boat be put away properly after use.
Letter from Winifred Moberly (Principal of St Hilda’s) to Margaret Robinson (Acting Principal of St Hugh’s) informing her of the unsafe boating conditions around Magdalen Bridge, 5 May 1924
With the kind permission of the Principal and Fellows of St Hugh’s College, Oxford
Miss Oxford a 'faster girl' than Miss Cambridge
Front page of the Daily Sketch [16th March 1927] about the first women's boat race which was held on the Isis (Thames) in Oxford. Six of Oxford crew were from St Hilda’s with one from Somerville and the Oxford Home-Students (later St Anne's College). The Cambridge crew were made up entirely of students from Newnham.
Press cuttings from the Oxford Mail and other publications covering the 6th Oxford Cambridge Women’s Boat Race on 29 February 1936
The race was won by Oxford with a margin of 1/2 a length, in a time of 2 minutes and 15 seconds. The crew consisted of a mix of students from St Hugh's College and the Society of Oxford Home-Students (later St Anne’s College).
Courtesy of St Anne’s College, Oxford
College members can visit some of the items belonging to St Hilda's College in South Foyer.
For more information about the Archive contact Oliver Mahony, the College Archivist.