History of the Bedford Centre

Royal Holloway College was founded by Victorian entrepreneur, Thomas Holloway, as a college for the higher education of young women. Almost 100 years later, in 1985, Royal Holloway merged with Bedford College, another pioneering institution founded in 1849 by Elizabeth Jesser Reid. The Colleges had become part of the University of London before the turn o f the century when the University first awarded degrees to women. Both colleges began to admit male undergraduates from 1965.

As part of the College's ongoing commitment to the education of women, Royal Holloway opened the Bedford Centre for the History of Women during the 150 year celebrations of Bedford College.

RHC PH 285/4/145, RHUL Archives