Katharine Stephen
Katharine Stephen | |
|---|---|
 Stephen by Glyn Philpot | |
| Born | 26 February 1856 South Kensington, London, England |
| Died | 16 June 1924 (aged 68) South Kensington, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Other names | Sarah Brook |
| Education | Bedford College |
| Occupation | Librarian |
| Known for | Principal of Newnham College |
Katharine Stephen (26 February 1856 – 16 June 1924) was a British librarian and later principal of Newnham College at Cambridge University.[1]
Early life and family
[edit]Katharine Stephen was born in 1856 in London, the daughter of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen (1829–1894) and Mary Richenda Cunningham (1829–1912), daughter of Rev. John William Cunningham.[2] Her siblings included Rosamond Stephen and Sir Harry Stephen. She was the niece of Caroline Stephen and of Leslie Stephen and the cousin of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.[1]
Work
[edit]Katharine Stephen worked at Newnham College, Cambridge. She first joined the college as Helen Gladstone's secretary,[3] and worked with Anne Jemima Clough to teach working men on Sunday mornings in St Matthew's Schoolroom, Barnwell.[4] She was appointed Librarian of Newnham's 'first purpose-built library' in 1888.[5] She went on to become Vice-Principal and, in 1911, Principal of the college during the First World War years,[6] and kept her seat on the Council after her retirement in 1920.[5]
Stephen sat for a portrait by her cousin Vanessa Bell but that painting is lost. The painting at Newnham College is by Glyn Philpot.[7]
Stephen died of cancer on 16 June 1924 at her home in South Kensington. She was loyal to her family; every day she would either see her mother or write her a letter. Her aunt, Caroline Stephen, was another relative; she was a Quaker as well. Caroline came to live in Cambridge in 1895 where she evangelised to Newnham students.[8] Caroline's final book contained a short memoir written by Katherine.[2]
Legacy
[edit]The Katharine Stephen Rare Books Library at Newnham was built in 1981-82. It was designed by Joanna van Heyningen and was listed Grade II in 2018 with other post-modern buildings.[9]
Publications
[edit]- French History for English Children (1881), under the pseudonym Sarah Brook.
- Three Sixteenth Century Sketches (1884), under the pseudonym Sarah Brook.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Obituary: Miss Katharine Stephen – Former Principal of Newham". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 17 July 1924. p. 16.
- ^ a b "Stephen, Katharine [pseud. Sarah Brook]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48465. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Gardner, Alice (1921). A Short History of Newnham College. Cambridge: Bowes & Bowes. p. 113.
- ^ Gardner, Alice (1921). A Short History of Newnham College. Cambridge: Bowes & Bowes. p. 70.
- ^ a b "Significant contributors in the history of Newnham College". Newnham College. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ Hamilton, Mary Agnes (1936). Newnham: an informal biography. London: Faber. p. 169.
- ^ Frances Spalding (May 2015). Vanessa Bell: Portrait of the Bloomsbury Artist. I.B.Tauris. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-78453-241-3.
- ^ "Stephen, Caroline Emelia [Milly]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/36269. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1450935)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 May 2018.