Background
Procter was born on 6 June 1897 in Hunton Bridge, Hertfordshire.
Procter was born on 6 June 1897 in Hunton Bridge, Hertfordshire.
She was educated at two all girls independent schools. Corran School for Girls in Watford and Cheltenham Ladies" College in Cheltenham. In 1918, she graduated Bachelor of Arts (Bachelor) with distinguished first class honours in Modern History.
She served as Principal of Street Hugh"s College, Oxford from 1946 to 1962. In 1915, she matriculated into Somerville College, Oxford as a commoner. Her college tutors were Margaret Hayes Robinson and Florence O"Loughlin.
During her time at the University of Oxford, she was awarded a blue for lacrosse.
Procter began her academic career as a teacher at Saint Felix School, Southwold. After two years teaching, she was elected Mary Somerville Research Fellow at Somerville College, Oxford in 1921.
She undertook research on the medieval history of Spain, including visits in 1922 to the archives in Madrid, Barcelona, Pamplona, and Lisbon. She was the first female scholar to be admitted to the National Historical Archive of Spain and the Biblioteca Nacional de España.
In 1925, she was appointed a tutor at Street Hugh"s College, Oxford and was elected a Fellow the following year.
In 1933, she was appointed a university lecturer in medieval European history. In 1946, she was elected Principal of Street Hugh"s College. She was invited to deliver the Norman MacColl lectures at the University of Cambridge in the academic year 1948 to 1949.
In 1951, she published the lectures as a monograph titled Alfonso X of Castile, Patron of Literature and Learning.
She also acted as a supervisor for a number of postgraduates. These included Derek Lomax who became Professor of Spanish at Birmingham University, and Richard Fletcher who became Professor of History at the University of New York
She retired in 1962 and was elected an Honorary Fellow of Street Hugh"s College, Oxford.
