Professor Ursula Henriques

It is with regret that we announce the death of Professor Ursula R. Q. Henriques, former Professor of History at Cardiff University.

Ursula was appointed to the History department at the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire (now Cardiff University) as an associate lecturer in 1960. During the Second World War she worked in the Admiralty and in Civil Defence, and after she was a Red Cross Officer in Hong Kong and then went via secondary school teaching into a university career.

A Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin in 1968/9, she was promoted to senior lecturer in 1973 and to a personal chair here at Cardiff University in 1979. Educated at Somerville College, Oxford, she gained an MA, and then a Bachelor of Literature.

Beginning her academic career as a medievalist, Ursula but moved on to acquire a doctorate in modern history from Manchester University in 1959. Entitled Some Aspects of the Theory of Religious Toleration in England, 1787-1833, it was published in 1961. Her subsequent works include Early Factory Acts and their Enforcement (1971) and Before the Welfare State: Social Administration in Early Industrial Britain (1979). She was the editor of Jews of South Wales: Historical Studies (1993).

A contributor to the leading historical journals in the English language, Ursula was a very distinguished figure and a great asset to the History department here. Until very recently one could still encounter her from time to time at lunch in Aberdare Hall. She is remembered not only for her sharp intellect but also as a strong personality and one who was forthright and courageous in expressing her views. A long-standing member of the University, she generously endowed both a postgraduate bursary and an undergraduate prize.

Ursula died peacefully aged 94 years.

A tribute from Professor Peter Coss, School of History and Archaeology