Katharine Stephen | |
---|---|
![]() Stephen by Glyn Philpot | |
Born |
South Kensington, London, England | 26 February 1856
Died | 16 June 1924 South Kensington, England | (aged 68)
Nationality | English |
Other names | Sarah Brook |
Education | Bedford College |
Occupation | Librarian |
Known for | Principal of Newnham College |
Katharine Stephen (26 February 1856 – 16 June 1924) was a British librarian and later principal of Newnham College at Cambridge University. [1]
Katharine Stephen was born in 1856 in London, the daughter of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen (1829–1894) and Mary Richenda Cunningham (1829–1912), daughter of Rev. John William Cunningham. [2] Her siblings included Rosamond Stephen and Sir Harry Stephen. She was the niece of Caroline Stephen and of Leslie Stephen and the cousin of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell. [1]
Katharine Stephen worked at Newnham College, Cambridge. She first joined the college as Helen Gladstone's secretary, [3] and worked with Anne Jemima Clough to teach working men on Sunday mornings in St Matthew's Schoolroom, Barnwell. [4] She was appointed Librarian of Newnham's 'first purpose-built library' in 1888. [5] She went on to become Vice-Principal and, in 1911, Principal of the college during the First World War years, [6] and kept her seat on the Council after her retirement in 1920. [5]
Stephen sat for a portrait by her cousin Vanessa Bell but that painting is lost. The painting at Newnham College is by Glyn Philpot. [7]
Stephen died of cancer on 16 June 1924 at her home in South Kensington. She was loyal to her family; every day she would either see her mother or write her a letter. Her aunt, Caroline Stephen, was another relative; she was a Quaker as well. Caroline came to live in Cambridge in 1895 where she evangelised to Newnham students. [8] Caroline's final book contained a short memoir written by Katherine. [2]
The Katharine Stephen Rare Books Library at Newnham was built in 1981-82. It was designed by Joanna van Heyningen and was listed Grade II in 2018 with other post-modern buildings. [9]