Elizabeth Phillips Hughes was given to observe that it was a characteristic of the enthusiastic Welsh to begin projects that the more persistent English would then see through to completion. In her case at least, the stereotype rang true. Having founded Britain’s first teacher training college for women, she retired at the age of forty-seven.

Her remarkable legacy was not forgotten, however. By 1984 her independent Cambridge Training College for Women had become Hughes Hall - a fully recognised college of Cambridge University. Its official history pays fulsome tribute to the pivotal role – both practical and inspirational – that she played in its early days.

‘Bessie’ Hughes came from a family of Carmarthenshire Methodists with a streak of Jewish blood thrown in. It seems she was not allowed to read books until the age of ten- something that might account for her later enthusiasm for education.

Her early adulthood is something of a mystery. Having attended private school in Taunton she next surfaces in 1877 as a teacher at Cheltenham Ladies College. She later completed a Cambridge degree, becoming the first woman ever to achieve first class honours.

Elizabeth attended Newnham College, part of the late 19th century expansion of women’s education in which she was about to become a major figure. In response to the need to prepare women graduates for teaching careers, she was appointed principal of the new C.T.C in 1884.

Its reputation growing, the college moved to impressive new buildings in 1895. The Marquis of Ripon observed on opening day that more was being done for the training of women teachers than their male counterparts.

In 1899 Elizabeth Hughes left Cambridge on sabbatical. She never resumed her post, returning instead to Wales where she busily spent the rest of her life.

She oversaw a hospital during the First World War and campaigned for universal secondary education.

She was deeply moved to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Wales in 1920. For as the history of Hughes Hall recalls, “she never missed an opportunity for extolling the virtues of the Welsh in the field of education.”