The English Department is pleased to be able to reward our students' excellent work in the fields of Old and Middle English literature with funds endowed in memory of Phyllis Hodgson. Phyllis Hodgson (1909-2000) was Professor of Medieval Literature at Bedford College, before it merged with Royal Holloway. She was an important editor of Middle English texts, especially the works associated with the Cloud of Unknowing for the Early English Text Society and the influential students' edition of Chaucer's Franklin's Tale for Cambridge University Press. She taught a generation of influential medievalists, including Elizabeth Salter, Stanley Hussey, and David Burnley.

• A prize of £50 is available for exceptional achievement in one of our BA courses on Old or Middle English literature (Pre-conquest English I, Pre-conquest English II, Tolkien's Roots, Medieval Arthurian Literature, Middle English Poetry, Medieval Drama, Medieval Dream and Vision, Medieval Epic and Romance, Reading Beowulf, Beowulf and the Critics, The Gawain Poet, Special Author: Chaucer). For more on these courses consult our Options Booklet.
• A prize of £100 is available for excellent work done on the MA in Medieval Studies, either for courses or for the dissertation, in the fields of Old or Middle English literature.
• A prize of £200-£300 is available for excellent PhD work on Old or Middle English literature, either in the form of a conference paper or an article submitted to a journal or other publication.

Students following the BA or MA degrees will automatically be considered for awards. PhD students should submit drafts of their papers to Dr Jenny Neville| in the Department of English by 31 March.

Current holder of Phylis Hodgson Bursary: Martha Baldon

Current holder of Phylis Hodgson Prize: Katie Willis 

This prize was founded in 1918 in memory of Miss M A Bretherton (Mrs Pittendrigh), a distinguished student of Bedford College who entered in 1899. £60 awarded annually on the recommendation of the Head of Department to a First Year Honours student for excellent work. The prize money is to be spent on books, the selection of which is to be approved by the Head of Department of English.

Current prize holder: Eleanor Crane

Awarded annually on the recommendation of the Head of Department to the student, who during their second year of the BA Honours Degree Course, has made the most noteworthy progress since entering the College. The prize money [£60] is to be spent on books, the selection to be approved by the Head of Department.

Current prize holder: Claire Neanon

This prize was founded in 1980 with a legacy to the Royal Holloway College from Miss H A C Green (member of the staff of the Department of English from 1928-1967) who died in 1980. £75 awarded annually on the recommendation of the Head of Department to a Third Year Honours student for excellence in Old English or early Middle English.

Current prize holder: Susie Jaffer

The prize was endowed in 1986 by Mr and Mrs A T Hicks of Chertsey in memory of their daughter Phillippa Anne Hicks, a student at Strode's College, Egham, who died after a road accident in the Autumn of 1985. She had hoped to read English at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College. £75 awarded annually to the undergraduate student in English who, in the judgement of the Head of Department, has demonstrated qualities of innovation and originality in his or her studies.

Current prize holder: Caroline Icke 

Endowed in 1976 by the bequest of Mr Hatch-Anderson-Pelham, in memory of his wife (Edmée Manning, RHC 1901-05). The will also expressed the wish that a red rose be placed in the College Chapel on 22 June every year in memory of Edmée Manning, who was born on 22 June 1881. This has been done annually since the award was established. The prize [£300] awarded annually on the recommendation of the Head of Department to a Third Year Honours student for excellent work.

Current prize holders: Jessica Smith and Kate Smith 

This prize was named in memory of Professor Caroline Spurgeon, member of staff of the Department of English from 1901-1928 and Professor of English Literature from 1913 to 1928, who died in October 1942. It was founded in 1946 by the amalgamation of a donation made by Miss E M E Haydon,MA (Registrar of the College from 1919-1945) with a fund collected by the Bedford College Old Students' Association. The prize [£75] is awarded annually to a student in the final year of an English Honours degree who shows special promise in Shakespearian studies; part or all of the prize money may be spent on books, but a part may also be spent for a visit to Stratford during the Shakespearian Festival or for seeing other performances of Shakespeare plays.

Current prize holder: Ray Wood

This prize was founded in 1980 with a legacy to Bedford College by Miss Gertrude Schryver, an invalid interested in women's work. Awarded annually on the recommendation of the Head of Department for a Second Year Honours student for excellent work. The prize money [£60] is to be spent on books, the selection to be approved by the Head of Department.

Current prize holder: Ursula Clayton

Established in 1981 by Mr P F Vianney Waters, a student at Royal Holloway College from 1965-1968. £40 awarded annually on the recommendation of the Head of Departmernt of English to the best undergraduate essay concerned with some aspect of the English language, or the history of the English language, in any field of English studies. The prize money is to be spent on books.

Current prize holder: Umme Khanom 

Founded in 1897 by Dr Furnivall. One year's subscription to EETS. Awarded annually by the Early English Text Society on the recommendation of the Head of Department of English to a Second Year Honours student for the encouragement of the study of Early English Language & Literature.

Current prize holder: Abigail Brennan