Malvern Girls' College was built as the town developed into a fashionable Victorian spa town and began life as the Imperial Hotel, which later became the school's main building. During the century of the school's existence the status of women in society has changed dramatically. The shrewd women who founded and led the college both recognised and influenced that change. Their ability to perceive and adapt to change ensured that their school, which began very modestly, did not merely survive but became one of the finest schools in the country.