Quick crash course in Aberdare history: Sometime in the early 1880s, Lady Aberdare asked the Cardiff University administration why the university didn’t admit women. They told her it was because they didn’t have anywhere to house them. She was like, “Well, then.”
Until the current building was finished in 1895, “Aberdare Hall” was a smaller house a few blocks away. These are the house rules are from 1885:
Students are required:
To wear cap and gown. The gown does not fasten over the chest, so it is necessary to have a warm jacket to wear under it outdoors.
To provide themselves with two or three pairs of thick-soled boots. If they prefer walking shoes they should have a pair of gaiters to wear on wet days to avoid wet ankles.
To place their boots outside their rooms overnight.
To make appropriate change of dress for dinner. The dressing gong will be sounded fifteen minutes before dinner.
To sign their names daily at the evening dinner hour, and to obtain permission to leave the Hall later in the evening.
To consult the Warden about evening invitations, and to report themselves after absence.
To gain the Warden’s permission for outings, not later than 9.00am on the day on which they occur.
To seek the warden’s approval before inviting male visitors to Hall. They may invite their men friends to tea in the Common Room on Sunday afternoons, 4-6pm.
To refrain from making gestures at gentlemen of the Armed Forces who pass the building.
To ensure modest behavior in the vicinity of the Hall so as not to offend local residents or bring the name of the Hall into disrepute.