Lady Margaret Hall, the first women's college in Oxford, was founded in 1878 by Edward Stuart Talbot, then Warden of Keble College, and his wife Lavinia. The college was named after Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII, who was a renowned patron of learning.
It is one of the few Oxford Colleges on the River Cherwell. The original building at the end of Norham Gardens was extended in 1881 by Sir Basil Champneys in a red brick Queen Anne style. The architect of the main college buildings was Sir Reginald Blomfield who used the French Renaissance style of the 17th century and chose red brick with white stone facings. The central block, the 1910 Talbot Building, contains the Hall and Library.