Studley College

Studley Horticultural & Agricultural College for Women was a horticultural and agricultural college for women, near Studley in Warwickshire, England, which operated from 1898 until 1969. History The college was founded by Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick. In 1898 she had founded Warwick Hostel in Reading to offer training to 'surplus women in the lighter branches of agriculture'. Warwick Hostel expanded and moved to Studley Castle in Warwickshire in 1903, becoming Studley Horticultural & Agricultural College for Women. An early student was Adela Pankhurst, and an early warden (1908-1914, 1918-1922) was Dr Lillias Hamilton. Students included Taki Handa, a student and instructor at Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts, Japan, who studied at Studley from 1906 to 1907 and designed a garden at Cowden Estate in Muckhart, Scotland. The College students undertook hard practical work in its greenhouses and vegetable gardens. In 1920 Helen Ekins completed a part-time degree in horticulture at Birmingham University. Hamilton lauded her as the "most highly qualified... in horticulture in England". Hamilton had to retire due to ill health four years later and Ekins became her the new warden.