Elizabeth Jesser Reid

Life

Elisabeth Jesser Sturch was born in 1789 in London. Her father, William Sturch, was a wealthy Unitarian ironmonger. In 1821, she married Dr. John Reid. Dr. Reid had inherited land on the River Clyde at Glasgow, which had become valuable as the port grew in size. His death in July 1822 gave Mrs. Reid an independent income, which she used to help various philanthropic causes.

Active in liberal Unitarian circles, Reid was an anti-slavery activist, attending the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840. She met Lucretia Mott and the other American female delegates who had been denied the right to speak at the convention. and taking a close interest in the American Civil War. She was also in contact with leading figures in the revolutions in France and Germany in 1848, and the struggles for Italian independence.

In 1849, Reid founded Bedford College at Bedford Square in the Bloomsbury area of London. The college was a women-only higher education institution which aimed to provide a liberal and non-sectarian education for female students – something no other institution in the United Kingdom offered at the time. Bedford College played a leading role in the advancement of women in higher education, and in public life in general. The National Archives U.K. holds a number of letters written to Reid which reference noted Victorian advocates of female education including Harriet Martineau and Frances Lupton.

There is a green plaque on Reid's house in Bedford Square.

Reid died in 1866, leaving her remaining wealth in a trust fund for the college.

Bedford College became a college of the University of London in 1900, and merged with Royal Holloway College in 1985 to become Royal Holloway and Bedford New College. One of the halls of residence on the current campus is named "Reid Hall" in memory of the Bedford College founder.