Wymilwood Café

Have you ever wondered where the name of one of U of T’s most beloved campus hangouts came from?

In 1925, financier Edward Rogers Wood and Agnes Euphemia Smart Wood – a Victoria Women’s Association member – donated their stately home, Wymilwood, to Victoria University as a residence and social centre for women. The unusual moniker was derived from the names of the Wood children: “Wy” for William, who died in infancy, and “Mil” for their daughter, Mildred.

The original Wymilwood house, located directly west of Emmanuel College at 84 Queen’s Park, served as a space for women students of Vic until 1952 – it is now known as Falconer Hall. The Wymilwood building on the east side of Queen’s Park, in the heart of Victoria University, will reopen, expanded and renovated, as the Goldring Student Centre in 2013.