Pioneer in higher education for women in Britain, together with her friend Frances Mary Buss (1827–94), the headmistress of the North London Collegiate School for Ladies. In 1858 she was appointed principal of the recently established Cheltenham Ladies’ College, a position she was to hold until her death. She founded (1885) St Hilda’s College, Cheltenham, for women teachers and lent her support to the establishment of St Hilda’s Hall (later College), Oxford, in 1893. She was also an enthusiastic advocate of women’s suffrage.