Several notable figures connected to Bedford College, such as Founder Elizabeth Jesser Reid (pictured), Elizabeth Anne (Eliza) Bostock (trustee of Bedford College), and scholar Alice Louisa Zimmern are acknowledged as trailblazers for women’s education by an exciting project led by London’s Pascal Theatre Company. Their Women for Women project strives to unearth the stories and sound the voices of inspirational women who lived, worked, and studied in 19th century Bloomsbury. Excitingly, Pascal Theatre Company mobilises archival research to trace the histories of these women, bringing these to life via film, events, workshops, and website resources.  

In February 2023, Julia Pascal led a presentation at Royal Holloway on Pascal Theatre Company’s immersive play based on the life of Eleanor Marx, titled ‘Eleanor Marx: A Life in Movement.’ This event was organised by the Doctoral School alongside the student-led Exploding the Archives group, which consists of two RHUL postgraduate students from Royal Holloway – Sandra Lipner and Sarah Weston – and Ellis Huddart from Birbeck, University of London.  

Currently, members of the Exploding the Archive group and other postgraduate students from Royal Holloway are involved in conducting archival research for the Women for Women project. Since our Archives and Special Collections contain a wealth of resources for inspirational women with connections to both Bedford College and Bloomsbury, your friendly neighbourhood Royal Holloway Archives and Special Collections have been a vital resource in this collaborative effort.  

You can visit our Archives and Special Collections every Tuesday and Thursday between 10am-4pm. Just make sure to book an appointment in advance via email at: archives@royalholloway.ac.uk so that we can do our best to assist you.