An kafa kwalejin ne da farko a matsayin Kwalejin Horar da Mata ta Cambridge, kuma ya fara ne da ɗalibai 14 a cikin wani ƙaramin gida a Newnham da ake kira Crofton Cottage. Babban darektan farko shi ne wanda ya kammala karatun Kwalejin Newnham, Elizabeth Phillips Hughes (1851-1925), wanda ya kasance a cikin mukamin daga 1885 zuwa 1899. A 1895, kwalejin ta koma wani gini mai daraja, wanda masanin William Fawcett ya tsara, wanda ke kallon Fenner's Cricket Ground - wanda ya ci gaba da kasancewa babban ginin kwalejin har zuwa yau. Daya daga cikin matriculants na farko, Molly Thomas, ya ba da labarin kwarewar ɗalibai na farko a London na 1880s, wanda aka buga a ƙarƙashin sunan aurenta, M.V. Hughes Tambaya: Menene sunan Molly Thomass?
M.V. Hughes