Bryn Mawr College Deanery

The Bryn Mawr College Deanery was the campus residence of the first Dean and second President of Bryn Mawr College, Martha Carey Thomas, who maintained a home there from 1885 to 1933. Under the direction of Thomas, the Deanery was greatly enlarged and lavishly decorated for entertaining the college's important guests, students, and alumnae, as well as Thomas' own immediate family and friends.Merriam, Ruth.A History of the Deanery (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1965) pp. 4–5, 10–24.Sander, Kathleen W. Mary Elizabeth Garrett: Society and Philanthropy in the Gilded Age(Baltimore, MD, 2008) p. 205. From its origins as a modest five room Victorian cottage, the Deanery grew into a sprawling forty-six room mansion which included design features from several notable 19th and 20th century artists. The interior was elaborately decorated with the assistance of the American artist Lockwood de Forest and Louis Comfort Tiffany, de Forest's partner in the design firm Tiffany & de Forest, supplied a number of light fixtures of Tiffany glass.Mayer, Roberta. Lockwood de Forest, Furnishing the Gilded Age with a Passion for India (Newark, DE, 2008) pp. 180–181. De Forest's design of the Deanery's so-called 'Blue Room' is particularly important as it is often considered one of the best American examples of an Aesthetic Movement interior, alongside the Peacock Room by James Abbott McNeill Whistler.Merriam, Ruth.A History of the Deanery (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1965) p. 14 In addition, John Charles Olmsted, of the Olmsted Brothers landscape design firm, designed a garden adjacent to the Deanery, which also contained imported works of art from Syria, China, and Italy.Merriam, Ruth.A History of the Deanery (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1965) p. 5, 20.Andropogon Associates. Bryn Mawr College Campus Heritage Preservation Initiative. Reports and Plans. Book 1 (2004) p. 18. Accessed 22 May 2014 The Deanery's beauty and rich history established the Deanery as a cherished space on campus and an icon of Bryn Mawr College.Andropogon Associates. Bryn Mawr College Campus Heritage Preservation Initiative. Reports and Plans. Book 1 (2004) p. 18. Accessed 21 May 2014

From 1933 until 1968, the Deanery served as the Alumnae House for Bryn Mawr College.Finch, Edith. Carey Thomas of Bryn Mawr (New York, 1947) p.306. The building was demolished in the spring of 1968 to make space for the construction of Canaday Library, which stands on the site today.'"Campus to Lose Landmark But Traditions Will Remain." Main Line Times. (Ardmore, PA) February 29, 1968. At the time of its demolition, many of the Deanery's furnishings were re-located to Wyndham, an 18th-century farmhouse (with several later additions) which became the college's new Alumnae House.Bryn Mawr College. "Alumnae Association Moves from Deanery to Wyndham," The College News, Vol. 53, No. 1. Bryn Mawr, PA (September 16, 1967)

M. Carey Thomas, resident

After she was appointed Dean and Professor of English, M. Carey Thomas took up residence at Bryn Mawr College in 1885 in the small five-room house which would become known as the "Deanery."Merriam, Ruth.A History of the Deanery (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1965) p. 4 She had earned her undergraduate degree from Sage College, the women's school at Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Zurich at a time when women's opportunities in higher education were quite restricted.Finch, Edith. Carey Thomas of Bryn Mawr (New York, 1947) p. 57, 120–123 An advocate for women's education, Thomas played an active role in the planning of the college's organization and academic curriculum.Finch, Edith. Carey Thomas of Bryn Mawr (New York, 1947) pp. 136–57 In 1894, she was elected its second president,Finch, Edith. Carey Thomas of Bryn Mawr (New York, 1947) p. 214. a position which she held until her retirement in 1922.Finch, Edith. Carey Thomas of Bryn Mawr (New York, 1947) p. 284. In her forty-eight years at Bryn Mawr College Thomas continued to maintain a home in the Deanery, overseeing several expansions and renovations, as well as decorating the interior with items collected from her international travels.Merriam, Ruth.A History of the Deanery (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1965) pp. 4–5, 10–24. In 1933, she arranged for the Deanery and its furnishings to be turned over to the college for use as an alumnae house.Finch, Edith. Carey Thomas of Bryn Mawr (New York, 1947) pp. 305–6 She died two years later at the age of seventy-eight.Finch, Edith. Carey Thomas of Bryn Mawr (New York, 1947) pp. 323–24.

Mary Gwinn and Mary Elizabeth Garrett Mary (Mamie) Gwinn and Mary Elizabeth Garrett were intimate friends of M. Carey Thomas who, at different times, lived with Thomas at the Deanery and contributed to its enhancement. Thomas was introduced to Gwinn and Garrett by a close friend, Bessie King, during her time at Cornell.Horowitz, Helen. The Power and Passion of M. Carey Thomas (New York, 1994) p. 75 When Thomas returned to Baltimore, she became close friends with both Gwinn and Garrett, and together with Bessie King and Julia Rodgers the group of five women created the Friday Evening Club, which met every second Friday to write and discuss matters of love and life.Horowitz, Helen. The Power and Passion of M. Carey Thomas (New York, 1994) pp. 75–76. These friendships developed into long, loving partnerships, in which Gwinn and Garrett lived, studied, and traveled with Thomas. Gwinn accompanied Thomas to the University of Zurich and later lived with Thomas in the Deanery at Bryn Mawr College.Horowitz, Helen. The Power and Passion of M. Carey Thomas (New York, 1994) pp. 172, 202–203 Gwinn even received a degree in English and assumed a professorship in the department of English at Bryn Mawr.Horowitz, Helen. The Power and Passion of M. Carey Thomas (New York, 1994) p. 248 Eventually, however, the relationship between Gwinn and Thomas deteriorated as Thomas began an intimate friendship with Mary Garrett, who had long rejected Thomas' interest.Horowitz, Helen. The Power and Passion of M. Carey Thomas (New York, 1994) pp. 176–177, 204–205, 250, 252. Thomas' relationship with the two women was already strained when Gwinn shifted her affection to Alfred Hodder, a fellow Professor of English at Bryn Mawr College.Horowitz, Helen. The Power and Passion of M. Carey Thomas (New York, 1994) pp. 211–212, 278–286, 359 In the summer of 1904, Gwinn and Hodder married and Gwinn left the Deanery and Bryn Mawr to live with her new husband in New York.Horowitz, Helen. The Power and Passion of M. Carey Thomas (New York, 1994) pp. 366–369.Finch, Edith. Carey Thomas of Bryn Mawr (New York, 1947) pp. 194–196.

After the marriage of Mamie Gwinn to Alfred Hodder, Mary Garrett moved into the Deanery, where she resided until her death in 1915.Finch, Edith. Carey Thomas of Bryn Mawr (New York, 1947) pp. 194–196. Garrett was the daughter of John W. Garrett, the wealthy president of the B&O Railroad, and she used her financial resources to help the fledgling Bryn Mawr College in a variety of ways, including extensive renovations to the Deanery building.Merriam, Ruth.A History of the Deanery (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1965) p. 5 The two large renovations of the Deanery, in 1894–1896 and 1908–1909, and the decoration of the interior were largely financed through Garrett.Horowitz, Helen. The Power and Passion of M. Carey Thomas (New York, 1994) pp. 278–279, 373–374. In addition, Thomas and Garrett decorated the interior and garden of the Deanery with art that they collected during their many travels from all over the world, such as the pair of stone dogs from a Mandarin's palace in Manchuria and inlaid tables from Damascus.Merriam, Ruth.A History of the Deanery (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1965) pp. 20–22.

History

Early years When Joseph W. Taylor purchased 40 acres of land for the campus of Bryn Mawr College in 1878, three Victorian cottages were located on the property, later known as the Deanery, the Betweenery, and the Greenery.Merriam, Ruth.A History of the Deanery (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1965) p. 3 In 1885, M. Carey Thomas moved into the Deanery, a modest building of five rooms situated downhill and approximately 100 meters (330 feet) to the west of what was then the central campus building, Taylor Hall.Lower Merion Library System, Historical Atlases of Lower Merion, Bryn Mawr College campus, 1881 The residence underwent a minor expansion in 1888 – the first of three renovations – when two small rooms were added to the rear of the house for the storage of books and records.Merriam, Ruth.A History of the Deanery (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1965) p. 4

1894–1896 Renovation In 1894, the college architect Walter Cope drew up plans for a second expansion of the Deanery at the request of M. Carey Thomas, shortly after she was appointed to the college Presidency. The Philadelphia firm of Cope and Stewardson had been commissioned to design and construct several campus buildings in the 1880s and 90s, including the dormitories Radnor (1885) and Denbigh (1891).Bryn Mawr College. The Bryn Mawr Campus Heritage Preservation Initiative (Bryn Mawr, PA, 2004) p. 9. Andropogon Associates. Bryn Mawr College Campus Heritage Preservation Initiative. Reports and Plans. Book 1 (2004) p. 9. Accessed 15 January 2014 The Deanery expansion, which was largely funded by Mary Garrett, was intended to transform the Deanery into a home befitting Thomas's new presidential status, fitting into Thomas's larger vision for the expansion of the campus.Sander, Kathleen W. Mary Elizabeth Garrett: Society and Philanthropy in the Gilded Age(Baltimore, MD, 2008) p. 205.

The renovation completed in 1896 made four major changes to the existing building. The house was re-oriented away from its existing veranda, and a new entrance facing campus replaced the existing entrance. On the second floor, a library and guest bedrooms were created, and a third floor was added, containing more guest rooms and the servants' quarters. A large northwest wing was also added to the existing house, located off of the original dining room and containing the kitchen, pantry, and storage areas.Merriam, Ruth.A History of the Deanery (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1965) p. 4

1908–1909 Renovation

In 1907, Mary Garrett decided to fund another major renovation project to expand the Deanery for a third time. The plans were drawn up by the architectural firm of Archer and Allen, with Lockwood de Forest as consultant.Merriam, Ruth.A History of the Deanery (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1965) p. 5 The expansion began in 1908 and took nearly two years and $100,000 to complete.Finch, Edith. Carey Thomas of Bryn Mawr (New York, 1947) p. 237.Sander, Kathleen W. Mary Elizabeth Garrett: Society and Philanthropy in the Gilded Age(Baltimore, MD, 2008) p. 235.

This third expansion and renovation of the Deanery continued to build upon the previous alterations.Merriam, Ruth.A History of the Deanery (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1965) p. 5 The northwest wing was again extended to accommodate additional kitchen and storage facilities and more storage space was added on the third floor. In addition, Mamie Gwinn's bedroom on the second floor was transformed into Garrett's very large bedroom with an elaborate bath.

When completed, the Deanery had been transformed from its origins as a simple Victorian cottage into a sprawling, 46-room mansion. It was an elegant residence where M. Carey Thomas could entertain the college's important guests, students, and alumnae, as well as her own immediate family and friends.

Alumnae House and demolition