[2] She was educated privately and at St Hugh's Hall, Oxford,[3] where she befriended Grace Hadow, a fellow English student at Somerville College.

She became librarian of St Hugh's in 1904, initially teaching English, though switching to become tutor in German in 1909.

She and her sister, the pianist Margaret Deneke, lived in a house, Gunfield, close to the college.

[3] As a result of her WI activity, Deneke and Betty Norris of the Townswomen's Guild were invited to play a political role in reconstructing women's organizations in post-war Germany.

[7] Their report, published in 1947, emphasised Deneke's hopes for Landfrauenvereine analogous to English WIs, and German women's immediate need for practical material aid rather than 'preaching' of democracy.