Barbara Hammond
| Barbara Hammond | |
|---|---|
Chalk portrait by W. Rothenstein in 1908
"intensely penetrating blue eyes and ... beautifully abundant, copper-red hair" |
|
| Born |
Lucy Barbara Bradby 25 July 1873 |
| Died | 16 November 1961 (aged 88) St Paul's Hospital, Hemel Hempstead |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | social historian |
| Organization | Women's Industrial Council |
| Known for | The Labourer trilogy |
Lucy Barbara Hammond (née Bradby, 1873–1961) was an English social historian who researched and wrote many influential books with her husband, John Lawrence Hammond, including the Labourer trilogy about the impact of enclosure and the Industrial Revolution upon the lives of workers.
Born on 25 July 1873, she was the seventh child of Edward Bradby, who was a master at Harrow and headmaster of Haileybury College. In 1885, her father retired from Haileybury and moved to the new charitable settlement of Toynbee Hall in London's East End, with the family residing at St Katharine Docks – a significant change from Barbara's rural upbringing but which she took in her stride. She was then sent to the progressive new boarding school of St Leonards in Scotland, which was pioneering academic education for girls.
In 1892, she won a scholarship to Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, following her sister Dorothy. She was the first woman student at Oxford to use a bicycle and was also head of the college's boat club, captain of the hockey team and a tennis champion. She further distinguished herself by being the first woman to take a double-first in Classical Moderations and Greats – a set of examinations renowned for their difficulty. This feat inspired a limerick:
In spite of long hours with a crammer,
I never get more than a Gamma,
But the girl over there
With the flaming red hair
Gets Alpha Plus every time, damn her!
...
Wikipedia