Editing Somerville College, Oxford (section)

===Women's college===
When it opened, Somerville Hall had twelve students, ranging in age between 17 and 36.{{sfn|Batson|2008|p=26}} The first 21 students from Somerville and Lady Margaret Hall attended lectures in rooms above a baker's shop on [[Little Clarendon Street]].{{sfn |Adams |1996 |p=33}} Just two of the original 12 students admitted in 1879 remained in Oxford for three years, the period of residence required for male students to complete a [[bachelor's degree]].{{sfn |Batson |2008 |p=28}}

Increasingly, however, as the college admitted more students, it became more formalised. Somerville appointed Lilla Haigh as its first in-house tutor in 1882,{{sfn |Harrison |1994 |p=258}} and by the end of the 1890s female students were permitted to attend lectures in almost all colleges.{{sfn |Brockliss |2016 |p=375; 418}} In 1891 it became the first women's hall to introduce entrance exams and in 1894 the first of the five women's halls of residence to adopt the title of college (changing its name to Somerville College),{{sfn |Adams |1996 |p=47}} the first of them to appoint its own teaching staff, and the first to build [[Somerville College Library|a library]].{{sfn |Manuel |2013 |p=9}} In Oxford legend it soon became known as the "[[bluestocking]] college", its excellent examination results refuting the widespread belief that women were incapable of high academic achievement.{{sfn |Manuel |2013 |p=9}}

In the 1910s, Somerville became known for its support for the [[Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom|women's suffrage]] campaign.{{sfn |Adams |1996 |p=78}} In 1920, Oxford University allowed women to matriculate and therefore gain degrees.{{sfn |Batson |2008 |p=xv}} From the college's inception, all female students had to be chaperoned when in the presence of male students. The practice was abolished in 1925, although male visitors to the college were still subject to a curfew.{{sfn |Adams |1996 |p=215}} In the same year the college was granted its charter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A History of Somerville College, Oxford {{!}} Oxford Summer Courses |url=https://oxfordsummercourses.com/articles/history-of-somerville-college-oxford/ |access-date=8 August 2022 |website=oxfordsummercourses.com |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808013253/https://oxfordsummercourses.com/articles/history-of-somerville-college-oxford/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Somerville College Library with hyacinths.jpg|thumb|Somerville College Library with hyacinths]]