Have you ever wondered what your ancestor’s life was like as a trailblazing woman in education? For the first time, the student records of Edge Hill University are available online, including student registers, roll of students, and student index cards. These records capture details such as birth year, address, and schools where students taught, allowing you to delve into your family history and uncover the stories of pioneering women who shaped communities and challenged societal norms.
Have you ever wondered what your ancestor’s life was like as a trailblazing woman in education? For the first time, the student records of Edge Hill University are available online, including student registers, roll of students, and student index cards. These records capture details such as birth year, address, and schools where students taught, allowing you to delve into your family history and uncover the stories of pioneering women who shaped communities and challenged societal norms.
With every search result, you will be able to explore images of the original records and a transcript, including the vital details. We have digitised a wide range of records, which means it is likely you will find multiple records for each student. You can copy all the information in the transcript or add it to your workspace for further research. The transcripts will provide a combination of the following facts:
The original images will reveal even more about your ancestor’s education and teaching career. The student registers show the students’ results and qualifications. The Rolls of Students was maintained by members of the Edge Hill Students' Guild as late as 1989. The all-female Guild was established as a membership association for the alumni in 1896, with members paying a subscription fee and becoming entitled to a variety of benefits, including the College Magazine, social events and even support with healthcare costs. Members of the Guild, which remains all-female, continue to meet once a year at Edge Hill's Ormskirk campus, although the rate of new members joining was slowed gradually after the college became mixed in 1959.
Imagine your ancestor stepping into Edge Hill College on 24 January 1885—one of just 41 women ready to claim a future that society barely allowed them. Founded by Liverpool philanthropists, Edge Hill was the very first teacher training college for women in England, and the only one where they could truly graduate. Its students wore the colours of the suffragette movement with pride, symbols of determination and hope.
By 1925, the college had outgrown its Liverpool site and was moved by Lancashire County Council to a new home in Ormskirk, where it settled in 1931. Today, with nearly 10,000 students, Edge Hill University is a thriving community. But for those tracing family history, it remains a place where grandmothers and great-grandmothers may have first raised their voices as educated women, determined to make their mark.
As the first non-denominational college for women, the students were of a wide range of religions, include but not limited to:
Below are lists of some known abbreviations found within the registers and on the index cards.
Examples of examination certificates
Examples of Known Subject Abbreviations
Teaching role abbreviations