The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Denbigh Hall

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Denbigh Hall (three-quarter view, from the southeast), Bryn Mawr College

Institution Name: Bryn Mawr College
Original/Historic Place Name: Denbigh Hall
Location on Campus: 800 New Gulph Rd.
Date(s) of Construction:

1889-1891

original construction Cope & Stewardson

Designer: Cope & Stewardson
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Gothic revival, Beaux-Arts classicism, Other (Glossary)
Significance:
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: schist

Walls: schist, limestone

Roof: slate

Function:

ca. 1891	dining hall
ca. 1891	residence hall
present	residence hall

Narrative:
Denbigh is in overall very good condition, and retains the vast majority of its character-defining features. Like the other campus dormitories, it has been subject to repeated campaigns of finishes renewal and minor alterations associated with systems upgrades. Denbigh was largely destroyed by fire in 1902, but then rebuilt according to the original plans under the supervision of the same firm.

Denbigh is significant as a part of the ensemble of Cope & Stewardson dormitory buildings at Bryn Mawr, and marks an important step in establishing the campus perimeter according to the Oxbridge model.

References:

Andropogon Associates, and Emily Cooperman. Bryn Mawr College Campus Heritage Initiative, Funded by the J. Paul Getty Initiative. Report. Philadelphia, PA: Andropogon Associates, Ltd., 2004.

Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. Alma Mater: Design and Experience in the Women's Colleges from Their Nineteenth-Century Beginnings to the 1930s. New York: Knopf, 1984.

Webb, Leslie A. Bryn Mawr College Historic District. National Register of Historic Places designation report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior/National Park Service, 1984.