Denys Arthur Winstanley – författare

In this 1922 book, the first of four on the history of Cambridge in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, D.A. Winstanley, a Fellow of Trinity College and leading historiographer, explored the close ties between the academic and political worlds in the mid-eighteenth century. The book focuses on the role and achievements of the Duke of Newcastle, a Whig politician, as Chancellor of the University during the period 1748 to 1768. It makes extensive use of primary sources including the Duke's own records, which provide valuable documentation not only about his own activities but also about wider issues. Winstanley gives a detailed account of the inner working structures of the university and the colleges, introduces some of the most significant Cambridge personalities, and assesses the Duke's contribution to the university's development. His book remains of lasting interest to historians of education and the university.

This is the last of four books on the history of Cambridge University by the distinguished historian and Fellow of Trinity College D.A. Winstanley, first published in 1947. It covers the period from 1860 to 1882, when new University Statutes resulting from the Royal Commission were implemented in the face of considerable opposition. The author records with evident satisfaction that during this period a number of important reforms were finally achieved. The book is meticulously researched and documented, but Winstanley's energy, enthusiasm, and taste for quirky detail is evident throughout. He describes allegations of a college Mastership obtained 'by crooked means', the University's unpopular power to arrest and imprison young women on suspicion of prostitution, the real reasons behind the ban on college Fellows marrying, how the stringent religious tests were eventually relaxed, and how educational standards were raised by measures including better teaching, restructured subject areas, and tougher examinations.

Denys Arthur Winstanley (1877-1947), was a Fellow of Trinity College from 1906 until his death. His work included four important books on the history of the University of Cambridge between 1750 and 1882. This volume describes the many reforms to the educational system made during the early Victorian period: changes in college and university statutes, reform of the examinations, the foundation of Downing College and of Regius Professorships. Adopting an episodic rather than chronological approach, he is able to tease out specific controversies of the period such as a contested change of Mastership in Trinity, or the struggle for power in the Fitzwilliam Museum Syndicate. The extensive historical research in this book means that it holds its value today as a reliable source of information for historians of education in the early nineteenth century.