On the 40th anniversary of the admittance of female students to Balliol College, this exhibition delves into Balliol’s historic collections to illuminate the fundamental contribution of women to the College’s history.
The first female students matriculated at Balliol in 1979, but a very much longer history of women’s influence and agency at Balliol can be found in the College Archives. Beginning with the College’s joint founder, Dervorguilla of Galloway, who gave Balliol its Statutes in 1282, this exhibition tells the stories of the benefactors, educationalists, reformers, wives, writers, domestic staff, sisters and friends who over seven and a half centuries helped to shape the College we know today.
- Saturday 14 September: 11.00am–4.00pm (to coincide with Open Doors Oxford)
- Sunday 15 September: 11.00am‑4.00pm (to coincide with Open Doors Oxford)
- Friday 25 October: 3.00pm–7.00pm
- Saturday 23 November: 11.00am–4.00pm
- Wednesday 4 December: 3.00pm–7.00pm
There will also be Unlocking Archives talks related to this exhibition:
- 7 November 2019: ‘Mary Ward and the Challenge of Democracy: The 19th-century Balliol Connection’
- 28 November 2019: ‘“The engagement to include the services of the wife…’: The Domestic Work of Women at Balliol College”’
The exhibition will also be open to Balliol alumnae attending Balliol Women: 40 Years On, on Sunday 29 September, 10.30am-12.00pm. All event attendees will receive a free copy of the catalogue.
The exhibition catalogue is available as a PDF or in hard copy: £5, contact the Library to order.
For disabled access, please contact the Library in advance.