| AdminHistory | Scott writes that the private girls' school which Elizabeth and Margaret Taylor attended in Germany was 'situated in a large, rambling house in the town of Saxe-Meiningen'. The former duchy of Saxe-Meiningen is now part of Thuringia, the state between Bavaria and Saxony. The school was overseen by two principals, Miss Thekla Trinks and Miss L. Meyer who had both worked as governesses in London before establishing the school which was formally named the 'Tochter-Institut & Pensionat' in Meiningen. Thekla Trinks was the daughter of 'Oberlandesgerichtsadvokat', a German state barrister. Scott suggests that the town of Saxe-Meiningen 'had a cultural and musical life of its own' which was centred on the court of the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. The school also owned a house in the hills which had gardens and a large hall with a stage where the girls could spend their holidays. Elizabeth Taylor's letters home from school reveal that the girls referred to this house as 'Villa Britannia'. Although she enjoyed her last year at school in Germany, Elizabeth Taylor initially struggled with the rigid discipline enforced by her German schoolmistresses, frequently receiving bad marks and being reprimanded for untidiness and disobedience. Elizabeth Taylor also found it difficult to abide by her family's Quaker principles whilst living amongst girls who were not members of the Religious Society of Friends. The Taylors were a Quaker family committed to the beliefs and teachings of the Society of Friends which influenced their lifestyles. Although John and Mary Jane Taylor allowed their daughters to participate in dancing whilst at school, both Elizabeth and Margaret were prohibited from going to the theatre or opera. Elizabeth's letters written during this period reveal her frustration at being restricted from participating in the social and cultural life enjoyed by her school friends.
In her memoirs written in 1937 Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury recalled her time at the North London Collegiate School remarking that the school's headmistress Miss Frances Mary Buss had 'upheld ideals of service' to her pupils 'for which their higher education was fitting them'. Frances Buss's teachings informed Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury's own views about the value and purpose of education. Throughout her life Taylor Cadbury identified education as playing an important role in encouraging people to be aware of their social responsibilities and to participate in work supporting social welfare. Whilst attending the North London Collegiate School, in December 1875 Elizabeth Taylor successfully passed the Senior Cambridge Examination in ten subjects. The Cambridge Local Examinations had been opened to girls in 1865. |