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Girton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The College was established on October 16, 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon, as the first residential college for women in England.

It was called the College for Women, and was located at Benslow House, Hitchin, a town in Hertfordshire, England. The first group of students were known as The Pioneers. In 1872 the present site, located about two and a half miles northwest of the centre of Cambridge, next to the village of Girton was purchased; the College was then renamed Girton College, and opened at the new location in October of 1873.

Over the years, many additions have considerably expanded the size of the college, most currently the award-winning library extension. Numerically and geographically, Girton is now one of the largest Colleges in Cambridge. However, the geographical separation means that most people socialise within the College more than elsewhere (i.e. at other Colleges), which is said to create a distinctive, even cosy, atmosphere that is well renowned throughout the University. Girton also proudly houses an Egyptian mummy named "Hermione", and is the only Cambridge college to have its own indoor heated swimming pool.

On April 27, 1948, women were admitted to full membership of the University of Cambridge, and Girton College received the status of a College of the University. However, to remember the time when women were not allowed to obtain degrees of the University of Cambridge, no gowns are worn during the college feast, when students in their final year are celebrated.

The college became mixed in 1977 with the arrival of the first male Fellows; male undergraduates have been admitted since 1979.

Girtonians are known for their chant of "We are Girton - super Girton! No one likes us, but we don't care!", in imitation of Millwall F.C. fans' famous song. The reference to "no one likes us" is regarded to be due to the relative distance of Girton in comparison to many of the other colleges. Anecdotes about the distance of Girton from other Cambridge colleges are plentiful, for example that, by popular legend, more Cambridge students have visited Delhi than Girton college.

Girton enjoys the rare distinction of having a song written by Gilbert & Sullivan named after the College: “Oh, maiden rich in Girton lore.” (Utopia)

In 2004, The Sun newspaper suggested that Girton College was 'now trendy'.

Notable alumnae

For details of graduates in mathematics up to 1940 see

See also

Institutions named after Girton College

Further reading

  • Girton: Thirty Years in the Life of a Cambride College. Third Millennium Publishing, 2006.

Colleges of the University of Cambridge | Educational institutions established in the 1860s | 1869 establishments

Coleg Girton, Caergrawnt | Girton College (Cambridge) | Girton College (Cambridge) | ガートン・カレッジ

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Girton College, Cambridge".

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