Maria Georgina Grey
Encyclopedia
Maria Georgina Grey was an educationist and writer in the United Kingdom
who promoted women’s education and was one of the founders of the organisation that became Girls' Day School Trust
. Grey was often referred to during her career as Mrs William Grey, using the name of her husband.
. She was the third daughter of Admiral William Henry and Elizabeth Anne Shirreff. Out of her three sisters, Caroline (b. 1812), Emily (b. 1814), and Katherine (b. 1818), Maria was very close to her elder sister Emily Shirreff
, who would later become her collaborator in her writings and campaigns. She also had two brothers who both died at an early age.
, and later in Normandy
. The four Shirreff sisters were first taught at home by a French-Swiss governess who had a limited education.
In 1828 Maria and Emily joined a boarding school in Paris
, which later influenced scenes in Maria's second novel Love’s Sacrifice in 1868. A year later they were removed from the school due to Emily's poor health and after their father was appointed captain of the port of Gibraltar
in 1831 he did not think it was necessary to appoint another governess. Though their formal education was at an end, Maria and Emliy continued to improve themselves by travelling extensively and became expert linguists through their visits to France
, Spain
and Italy
, reading books from their father's extensive library, and became acquainted with many intellectuals of the age through their father's contacts.
In 1834 Mrs Shirreff brought her daughters back to England, and Maria and Emily began to write together. They first produced Letters from Spain and Barbary, published in 1835. In 1841 the wrote a novel called Passion and Principle, published anonymously
In 1841 Maria married her cousin, William Thomas Grey, a wine merchant who was the nephew of former prime minister Earl Grey
. The marriage was a happy one but produced no children.
to try to raise funds for the North London Collegiate School for Girls
and encouraged Frances Buss
to introduce student teachers.
In the same year she also unsuccessfully stood for election as the representative for the Borough of Chelsea
to The London School Board
, one of the first women to do so. Her speeches were later published in a booklet entitled The London School Board. Maria saw the election as a turning point in her career leading her and Emily to work more toward the improvement of Women’s Education.
Maria and Emily were also suffragists and in 1870 Maria published a booklet Is the Exercise of the Suffrage unfeminine?. Maria demanded the girls should receive an education which would prepare them for their increased civil responsibilities.
later the same year. As a result, Maria and Emily set up a provisional committee named the National Union of the Improving the Education of Women of All Classes (later shortened to the Women's Education Union). The Union aimed 1871 to establish good and cheap day schools for all classes above the level of elementary education. Maria and Emily were very active in the Union, and Emily acted as the organizing secretary of the Union until 1879.
The Union also led to the formation The Girls' Public Day School Company (GPDSC) (now the Girls' Day School Trust
) in 1872 to provide new secondary schools to educate girls from various classes. Maria was an active member of the Council of the GPDSC until 1890 when her poor health prevented her. In September 2007, this trust converted one of its schools (The Belvedere School) back into the maintained sector. Maria also encouraged the GPDSC to set up teaching training Departments to train the next generation of teachers. Maria retired from the Council of the GPDSC in 1890 and was made a Vice-President of the organisation.
In 1878 Maria also help found a teacher training college with The Teachers’ Training and Registration Society. In 1885 the College was renamed The Maria Grey Training College for Women
. In 1976 the College merged with Borough Road College to form the West London Institute of Higher Education
, which is now part of Brunel University
.
, London
, the house in which she had lived with Emily.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
who promoted women’s education and was one of the founders of the organisation that became Girls' Day School Trust
Girls' Day School Trust
The Girls' Day School Trust is a group of 26 independent schools - 24 schools and two Academies - in England and Wales, catering for pupils aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each year...
. Grey was often referred to during her career as Mrs William Grey, using the name of her husband.
Family
Maria Georgina Shirreff was born on 7 March 1816 in Blackheath, LondonBlackheath, London
Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west...
. She was the third daughter of Admiral William Henry and Elizabeth Anne Shirreff. Out of her three sisters, Caroline (b. 1812), Emily (b. 1814), and Katherine (b. 1818), Maria was very close to her elder sister Emily Shirreff
Emily Anne Eliza Shirreff
Emily Anne Eliza Shirreff was a pioneer in the movement for the higher education of women and the development of the Froebelian principles in England.-Family:...
, who would later become her collaborator in her writings and campaigns. She also had two brothers who both died at an early age.
Educational experiences
In the 1820s the family lived in France where their father was stationed at St Germain en Laye, near ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and later in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. The four Shirreff sisters were first taught at home by a French-Swiss governess who had a limited education.
In 1828 Maria and Emily joined a boarding school in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, which later influenced scenes in Maria's second novel Love’s Sacrifice in 1868. A year later they were removed from the school due to Emily's poor health and after their father was appointed captain of the port of Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
in 1831 he did not think it was necessary to appoint another governess. Though their formal education was at an end, Maria and Emliy continued to improve themselves by travelling extensively and became expert linguists through their visits to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, reading books from their father's extensive library, and became acquainted with many intellectuals of the age through their father's contacts.
In 1834 Mrs Shirreff brought her daughters back to England, and Maria and Emily began to write together. They first produced Letters from Spain and Barbary, published in 1835. In 1841 the wrote a novel called Passion and Principle, published anonymously
In 1841 Maria married her cousin, William Thomas Grey, a wine merchant who was the nephew of former prime minister Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the...
. The marriage was a happy one but produced no children.
Early writings
Even though she was married, Maria still remained close to Emily. She moved into William and Maria's home, and the sisters continued to write together. Their treatise on women's education, Thoughts on Self Culture Address to Women, was published in 1850 funded by Maria's husband. In the publication they voiced their disapproval of the frivolous attitude to marriage and the established view that women should be only educated enough to attract a husband. They also laid out a basis for education for girls which included subjects, such as arithmetic, geometry, history, elementary science and politics, usually neglected in customary female education of the time. They also argued that female education should not end at ‘the period when female education is supposed to be finished’ and continue into later life.Activities
Maria’s husband died in 1864, and she began to take an active role in public life and joined Emily in the movement for the improving of education for girls. She was especially interested in the lack of funding for girls’ education. In 1870 she wrote to the repeatedly to The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
to try to raise funds for the North London Collegiate School for Girls
North London Collegiate School
North London Collegiate School is an independent day school for girls founded in 1850 in Camden Town, and now in the London Borough of Harrow.The Good Schools Guide called the school an "Academically stunning outer London school in a glorious setting which, in 2003, demonstrated its refusal to rest...
and encouraged Frances Buss
Frances Buss
Frances Mary Buss was a headmistress and an English pioneer of women's education.The daughter of Robert William Buss, a painter and etcher, and his wife, Frances Fleetwood, Buss was one of six of their ten children to survive into adulthood...
to introduce student teachers.
In the same year she also unsuccessfully stood for election as the representative for the Borough of Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
to The London School Board
London School Board
The School Board for London was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London....
, one of the first women to do so. Her speeches were later published in a booklet entitled The London School Board. Maria saw the election as a turning point in her career leading her and Emily to work more toward the improvement of Women’s Education.
Maria and Emily were also suffragists and in 1870 Maria published a booklet Is the Exercise of the Suffrage unfeminine?. Maria demanded the girls should receive an education which would prepare them for their increased civil responsibilities.
Women's Education Union
Maria proposed the creation of a national movement which would promote women's education and presented the scheme to the Society of Arts in 1871. The scheme received great support and Maria gave a second paper to the Social Science Association’s annual congress in LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
later the same year. As a result, Maria and Emily set up a provisional committee named the National Union of the Improving the Education of Women of All Classes (later shortened to the Women's Education Union). The Union aimed 1871 to establish good and cheap day schools for all classes above the level of elementary education. Maria and Emily were very active in the Union, and Emily acted as the organizing secretary of the Union until 1879.
The Union also led to the formation The Girls' Public Day School Company (GPDSC) (now the Girls' Day School Trust
Girls' Day School Trust
The Girls' Day School Trust is a group of 26 independent schools - 24 schools and two Academies - in England and Wales, catering for pupils aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each year...
) in 1872 to provide new secondary schools to educate girls from various classes. Maria was an active member of the Council of the GPDSC until 1890 when her poor health prevented her. In September 2007, this trust converted one of its schools (The Belvedere School) back into the maintained sector. Maria also encouraged the GPDSC to set up teaching training Departments to train the next generation of teachers. Maria retired from the Council of the GPDSC in 1890 and was made a Vice-President of the organisation.
In 1878 Maria also help found a teacher training college with The Teachers’ Training and Registration Society. In 1885 the College was renamed The Maria Grey Training College for Women
Maria Grey Training College
Maria Grey Training College was a training college for female teachers from 1878-1976.-History:The college was opened as the Teachers’ Training & Registration Society College on 1 May 1878 in the Clergy House, Skinner Street, Bishopsgate...
. In 1976 the College merged with Borough Road College to form the West London Institute of Higher Education
West London Institute of Higher Education
The West London Institute of Higher Education was located in Isleworth, West London, UK from 1976 until 1995 when it merged with Brunel University.- Establishment :...
, which is now part of Brunel University
Brunel University
Brunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
.
Later life
Maria continued to give speeches and write through the 1880s. By 1890 she became too ill to be active and for last 15 years of her life, Maria lived in strict retirement due to ill health. Despite her ill health and Emily's death in 1897 she wrote her Last Words to Girls on Life in School and after School in 1889. She died on 19 September 1906, at 41 Stanhope Gardens, KensingtonKensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the house in which she had lived with Emily.
Publications and lectures
- Shirreff, Maria Georgina and Shirreff, Emily (published anonymously) (1841). Passion and Principle. Edited by Captain Schmier. London.
Primary sources
- The Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives hold a series of correspondence from Maria, 1829-1848.
- The Institute of EducationInstitute of EducationThe Institute of Education is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom specialised in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It is the largest education research body in the United Kingdom, with...
Archives holds the records of the Girls' Day School Trust which contain some papers of Maria Grey (reference code: GDS/A).