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Newnham College : Lawn tennis dress c. 1880

Newnham College

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Lawn tennis was the most popular sport in 1880s Cambridge. Each hall in Newnham College designed its own tennis outfit which aimed at ‘the artistic combination of beauty and freedom of movement.’</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Cricket and cycling were also taken up with enthusiasm in the 1890s. Girton students founded a bicycle club in 1894 but could only afford to hire 4 bikes between 50 members. Bicycles were barely socially acceptable for women. Girton students were asked to leave theirs at the college’s bike shed on Castle Hill and proceed decorously on foot. The mistress also recommended students visiting town in the 1920s should pause to put on hats and gloves at Storey’s Way.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Courtesy of Newnham College, University of Cambridge</p>

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Lawn tennis dress c. 1880 (Newnham Dress)

Lawn tennis was the most popular sport in 1880s Cambridge. Each hall in Newnham College designed its own tennis outfit which aimed at ‘the artistic combination of beauty and freedom of movement.’

Cricket and cycling were also taken up with enthusiasm in the 1890s. Girton students founded a bicycle club in 1894 but could only afford to hire 4 bikes between 50 members. Bicycles were barely socially acceptable for women. Girton students were asked to leave theirs at the college’s bike shed on Castle Hill and proceed decorously on foot. The mistress also recommended students visiting town in the 1920s should pause to put on hats and gloves at Storey’s Way.

Courtesy of Newnham College, University of Cambridge

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