Abstract
CBOSBY HALL, the international hall of residence in London for university women from all over the world, was opened in 1927 by the British Federation of University Women, which had raised more than £50,000 for the purpose of acquiring the Hall and building a residential wing. The Hall quickly became a centre for international culture and friendship where university women from every country were able to live and study, meet and exchange views, come for short visits or use the club facilities provided. Crosby Hall was requisitioned during the War but re-opened in 1946 ; and since this date approximately three thousand university women from forty-five different countries have resided there. The Great Hall, which dates from 1466, is the main building of the residence, and, curiously enough, it was erected originally in the City and was moved in 1909 stone by stone and beam by beam to the present site on the Chelsea Embankment. The only qualification necessary for using Crosby Hall is membership of a national federation of university women, but residence is in general limited to one year, preference being given to research and postgraduate students. Members are welcomed for short visits and, accommodation permitting, university women working in London can also live at Crosby Hall. The range of nationalities, professions and interests represented at the Hall is exceedingly varied, and all who have stopped there praise the spirit of international co-operation and tolerance that prevails. The demand for accommodation is very great, and an endowment fund has been launched to build a second residential wing, a library and additional common rooms, and also to endow fellowships. The first Crosby Hall scholarship from the new fund was awarded this year to Dr. Leonor Fiorini of Buenos Aires, Argentine, who specializes in hydro-geology, and two further scholarships have been endowed— a City of London scholarship and a New Zealand one. New Zealand and Canada have each contributed £1,000 to the fund. An international sale to raise a further £4,000 will be held at Caxton Hall, London, S.W.I, on November 15, from noon to 7 p.m.(admission Is.).
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Crosby Hall : International Residence for University Women. Nature 164, 820–821 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/164820c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/164820c0