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As the University of Birmingham celebrates its 125th anniversary, we’ve been delving into the different roles that Winterbourne has played throughout history. So far we’ve explored how the garden has been used as a space and resource for research and learning, as well as how the house became a central hub for the Extra-Mural Department. This month, our Visitor Services Assistant and Archive Volunteer, Abbie, has been looking at oral histories from the young women and girls who have lived at Winterbourne over the years.
Over its 121 years, Winterbourne has been called ‘home’ by many different people, including a group of first-year female students from the University of Birmingham. As you may already know, Winterbourne was a student residence from 1944-1964, and for the past few months I’ve been reading a collection of our oral histories from these students. As I’ve done so, I’ve been able to experience Winterbourne through their stories, seeing it as a base for young women to grow and build friendships whilst they were still in the minority of the student population.
There are four oral histories I have been focussing on; two of them from students who lived at Winterbourne, one a student at University House (now Birmingham Business School), and one who grew up with her grandparents working at Winterbourne. These oral histories allow us to see Winterbourne through their eyes, uncovering its untold stories and homely characteristics.
Norma, who began her studies in the early 1950s, remembered Winterbourne as ‘a wonderful time of our lives’, and she remained close friends with fellow students after graduation. She describes Winterbourne as a place of endless coffee and chatter – albeit with rationed milk – and it draws a happy parallel with the smell of coffee and sound of chatter in our tearoom today. Decades on, Winterbourne has continued to act as a hub for family and friends, as I’m sure many of you have enjoyed a hot drink in the same space as these young women.
Carol was only a young girl when her grandparents Joe and Bridget Stacey worked at Winterbourne from the mid-40s to late 50s. She also remembers the cosy atmosphere, but with added mischief: she describes riding through the hall on her bike, climbing trees, and sliding down banisters. She also tells of a ‘lady in grey’ haunting the house and the sound of the piano being played while no one was in the room, as well as large family gatherings at the house during Christmas and other holidays.
Not only do they tell individual tales, but these oral histories also tell us about the experience for women studying and living at a university whose student population was largely male. Sue was a first-year student in 1962 and describes how feminism and discussions of ‘being a woman’ had no place in the university space. She describes the Law department student demographic as ‘200 and only four women, two of whom were at Winterbourne.’ Winterbourne then acted as an interesting environment, said Sue, offering women security, whilst also putting pressure on them to act as ‘they knew how to be’.
Contrarily, Isobel attended the University during the later years of the war, living at University House of which Winterbourne was an annex. During Isobel’s studies the number of men studying had quickly declined as they went to fight. She describes how a lot of the men completed a ‘two-year wartime degree’. Not only did the student demographic change. Isobel describes how the girls walked up from Winterbourne for ‘supper supplies’ due to rationing, giving us insight into what foods were available. Their stories allow us to see how Winterbourne adapted to a bleak time in Britain’s history, and the space it provided for young women during this period.
By connecting Winterbourne to themes such as women in education and rationing, these individual stories of young women and girls help to uncover an even richer and more interesting history. Winterbourne was home for these women during and after the turbulent war years, and at the dawn of a new era of women in higher education. My research will be put on display throughout the house in the coming months, exploring these stories in further detail alongside images from our archives. If you’re interested in these women’s stories, do come and have a read!
Abbie Fitton
Visitor Services Assistant and Archive Volunteer
