South · Founded 1893
St Hilda's College
The draw is its calm riverside setting and gardens on the Cherwell, just across the water from the tourist bustle, with a lively musical culture and punts moored below the lawns.
The college
A closer
look.
Cowley Place, east bank of the River Cherwell just south of Magdalen Bridge
Founded 1893. Founded by Dorothea Beale, principal of Cheltenham Ladies' College, as a hall for women; it was the last single-sex Oxford college, admitting men only from 2008.
Rather than one historic quad, it spreads as a run of Victorian villas and 20th-century blocks down the east bank of the River Cherwell, with lawns and gardens reaching the water and the modern Jacqueline du Pre Music Building alongside.
On the same walk
Closest to
this one.
On a visit
Don’t miss.
- 01Riverside gardens sloping to the River Cherwell
- 02Jacqueline du Pre Music Building concert venue
- 03College boathouse and punts
- 04Heritage as Oxford's last women-only college
Connected to
Notable
names.
- Barbara Pym (novelist)
- Val McDermid (crime writer)
- Wendy Cope (poet)
- Zeinab Badawi (broadcaster)
Before you go
Visiting St Hilda's College
Appointment Only. Published visitor access: By appointment only. Admission: Free. Confirm arrangements before travelling.
Opening hours, admission and access change often — check the official site before you travel.
- Founded
- 1893
- Area
- Cowley Place, east bank of the River Cherwell just south of Magdalen Bridge
- Type
- College
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