[2] In 1885, her father retired from Haileybury and moved to the new charitable settlement of Toynbee Hall in London's East End, with the family residing at St Katharine Docks – a significant change from Barbara's rural upbringing but which she took in her stride.

She was the first woman student at Oxford to use a bicycle and was also head of the college's boat club, captain of the hockey team and a tennis champion.

[2] This feat inspired a limerick:[1][6] In spite of long hours with a crammer, I never get more than a Gamma, But the girl over there With the flaming red hair Gets Alpha Plus every time, damn her!

[7] There, she had met John Lawrence Hammond and they married in 1901 after he had established a career in political journalism, becoming the editor of the Liberal weekly review, The Speaker, in 1899.

Their friend, the historian Arnold J. Toynbee, recounted her spartan, therapeutic lifestyle which emphasised fresh air – open windows, long walks, riding and outdoor sleeping.