The History of the Winter Williams Scholarship
In 1923, Dr Ivy Williams endowed the Winter Williams Scholarships in memory of her brother after he was killed in the First World War. Her scholarships supported students studying Law, with one open to all and another reserved for women. Ivy herself was the third female student to study at Oxford, taking her BA Jurisprudence examinations in 1900 and her BCL in 1902 as a member of the Society of Oxford Home Students (now St Anne’s College). These degrees, along with her MA, were only awarded to her by the University in 1920.
Ivy’s gift was a vision for what the Faculty, and the legal profession more widely, could be: a place where women were able to contribute to the study and practice of the law on an equal footing. It was a bold vision at a time when women had only recently secured the right be awarded degrees, let alone enter the legal profession. Ivy was forging this path herself: in 1922 she became the first woman to qualify at the bar of England and Wales. Through her gift to the Faculty, she made sure this journey would be smoother for the women following in her footsteps.
The Winter Williams Scholarships have now been awarded for more than a hundred years. They continue to help exceptional students undertake legal study and research at Oxford. Ivy Williams’ gift exemplifies the opportunity philanthropy offers us: to invest in the lives and futures of those who will come after.