Frances Hughes

Frances Emily Hughes became Frances Emily Webb-Peploe (1855 – 1927) was the head of the Women's hall of residence for the University College of North Wales in Bangor. She resigned following a dispute that caused a national debate.

Life
Hughes was born in 1855. Her parents were Anne Phillips and John Hughes. Her father was a surgeon based in Carmarthen and the family already included her brother Hugh Price Hughes and her sister Elizabeth Phillips Hughes. She completed her education at the North London Collegiate School. Her brother became a Wesleyan minister whereas she and her sister became Anglicans.

Hughes was employed as the head of the Women's hall of residence for the University College of North Wales in Bangor.

The "Bangor dispute"
Elspeth and John Rhŷs's daughter, Myfanwy, attended the college in Bangor where she lived at the women's hall. Hughes was concerned that their daughter was leaving the hall to visit Violet Osborn. Osborn had arrived at the Hall in 1891 when she was 25. She had lived at the hall for a year but she then decided to not live in the hall and she moved to Sackville Terrace. Hughes spoke, in confidence, to Myfanwy's mother Elspeth Rhŷs who was a teacher and a prominent campaigner for the education of women. Elspeth said that she was told that the elder Osborn was not good company for Myfanwy. She was "unfavourably brought-up", untruthful and not "pure-minded". It was against the rules for students staying at the halls to visit students who lived elsewhere and Osborn's character was questioned. News of this conversation spread and Violet Osborn and her supporters were concerned at the implication on her reputation. Hughes had expressed doubts about Violet's intentions and her integrity. The hall's governor's asked Frances to explain herself but she refused to reveal her sources. The Senate stood by Violet Osborn and the governors of the halls of residence backed Frances.

Her brother Hugh Price Hughes wrote to The Times in 1893 pointing out that Frances had been mistreated. He supported her view that students who decided to opt-in to staying at hall should not mix with those who opted-out. He added to the fuss by using the phrase "unattached" to refer to women students who were not in hall. The implications of the term implied a lack of supervision and the college objected. Henry Reichel wrote to The Times to complain, but the term "unattached" was re-used by the media as they continued to report the matter. Frances also wrote to the Times and she won a libel case against the Weekly Dispatch.

Two of Bangor's professors were involved in the case. Edward Vernon Arnold married Violet Osborn the other was Evan Keri Evans and he in time had to resign his position.

Later
In 1891 the college decided that any student under the age of 21 should be obliged to live in hall.

She married Revd Francis Hanmer Webb-Peploe and became known as a minister's wife. She died in the vicarage in Cheltenham on 12 February 1927.