Denman College


Denman, formally Denman College, was a residential adult education college centred on Marcham Park at Marcham in the English county of Oxfordshire.
Founded by the National Federation of Women’s Institutes in 1948, Denman offered day schools and residential courses in cookery, craft and lifestyle. The NFWI trustees proposed the closure of the college in July 2020.

House

The central Georgian house was previously called Marcham Park and stands on the site of the original manor house of Marcham, which was a grange of Abingdon Abbey. The present house dates from the late 17th century but was heavily remodelled for Thomas Duffield in around 1820. Its most well-known resident was Duffield's grandfather-in-law, the infamous miser, John Elwes.
The house is Grade II listed and on 9 November 2015, the centenary of the first WI meeting in England, Denman's entry in the National Heritage List for England was updated to include the WI connection, as were records for three other buildings of WI significance.

Women's Institute college

The college was formally established in 1948, and named after Lady Denman, the first chairwoman of the WI federation. By the 21st century, students attending Denman did not have to be members of the WI, and the college accepted both male and female learners.
Residential courses at Denman lasted between one and four nights, although non-residential day courses were also offered. Course subject areas included the arts, crafts, music, history, sport and technology. Denman was also the home of the WI Cookery School.

Closure

In July 2020 the trustees announced that they could no longer afford to run Denman at a loss, and proposed its permanent closure.