Nottinghamshire Women Make Their Mark
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Shoulder to Shoulder Nottinghamshire women make their mark 02 SHOULDER TO SHOULDER: NOTTINGHAMSHIRE WOMEN MAKE THEIR MARK Nottinghamshire Lieutenancy Stan Darling We would like to thank Nottingham celebrates Vote 100 Davina Flower Design City Council for the picture of Merlita Bryan and Jonathan Text by Kate Lewis Hood MSc. James Knox, General Manager Symcix for photo of Clipstone Female Firsts compiled by of the Jockey Clubs, Nottingham Colliery Women’s Support Group. Racecourse David S Stewart OBE The Nottinghamshire D.Litt.h.c. DL Linney Lieutenancy Votes for Women As part of the legacy of this work, Nottinghamshire County Council Centenary Sub-Committee an online version will be hosted by The Vice Chancellor and the Dame Elizabeth Fradd DL the Nottingham Women’s History Broadcast Journalism Dept, Amanda Farr DL Group. Nottingham Trent University Christine Goldstraw OBE DL The Nottinghamshire Lieutenancy Alison Swan Parente MBE DL Votes for Women Centenary Veronica Pickering DL Paragon Group Sub-Committee would wish to David S Stewart OBE DL acknowledge and thank private Thelma Redman donors and the following for Georgina Staveley, David S Stewart OBE DL donations to support the events, Nottinghamshire County Council including the Celebratory Tea at Peggy Wilkins Nottingham Racecourse and the Nottinghamshire Women’s Celebratory Service at Southwell Institutes Board of Trustees Minster: We would like to thank the Browne Jacobson for the ‘Manuscripts and Special publication of the booklet Collection, the University of Brewin Dolphin Nottingham’ Records of High Pavement Presbyterian (Unitarian) Bulletin PR Chapel, Nottingham Hi 3 P 51-2, Hi 3 P128. 02 CONTENTS Introduction .......................................................04 Women and liberation ........................................14 Women and democracy ......................................05 Further reading ..................................................18 Women and work ...............................................10 Female Firsts of Nottinghamshire ........................20 You sisters“ are the most fit and proper persons to deal the blow and most effectually so. Mrs Catherine Turner who signed the 1866 Suffrage Petition 03 INTRODUCTION 100 years ago, things were part of a far longer and still This booklet aims to open up changing dramatically ongoing history of women striving more discussion about women’s for women in Britain. for gender equality. action in Nottinghamshire, On 6 February 1918, the especially the stories of The booklet focuses on three Representation of the People women that might have been key areas of women’s action in Act was passed, meaning that missed. Readers are invited Nottinghamshire: democracy, some women (aged thirty or to share their knowledge and work, and liberation. Drawing over and holding a certain experience of Nottinghamshire attention to important figures amount of property) could women’s achievements with the and events in the campaign vote. On 21 November of the Nottingham Women’s for women’s suffrage, which same year, the Parliament History Group. resulted in the vote 100 years (Qualification of Women) Act ago, it also forwards to the 21st gave women over 21 the right century, highlighting the efforts to stand for election as a of Nottinghamshire women over Member of Parliament (MP). 200 years. However, it was another ten years before women finally This is far from a complete achieved equal voting rights history. However, it is hoped that with men on 2 July 1928. by presenting some key examples of women’s individual and Before and since these events in collective action in Nottingham the early 20th century, women and Nottinghamshire from in Nottinghamshire have been across the past two centuries, Votes for women is just fighting for women’s rights to “ awareness of women’s one part of a far longer participate in democracy and to achievements will be raised and and still ongoing history bring about changes on issues their legacies of pressing for of women striving for that matter to them. This booklet gender equality will be continued. gender equality. will show that votes for women is just one (albeit very important) 04 WOMEN AND DEMOCRACY Some women got the vote on 6 February 1918 However, women’s fight for political rights and voted for the first time on 14 December that and reforms didn’t start and end with the two year. Ten years later in 1928, all women aged 21 Representation of the People Acts. As will be seen, and over were finally able to vote. the struggle went on long before, and has continued long afterwards. Mrs Ann Cowen Secretary of Nottingham Womens Suffrage Society 05 19TH CENTURY: WOMEN AND CHARTISM The Chartist movement in the mid-nineteenth The work of the NFPU is an important example century called for political reform and a more showing that women of all classes were involved in democratic voting system (although votes for organising and protesting around issues of politics women were not yet on the agenda). Women and democracy, even before the mainstream were important to the Chartist movement women’s suffrage campaign. It also suggests the in Nottingham; on 20 October 1838, the influence and involvement of Nottingham in national Nottingham Review reported the founding of movements pushing for change. the Nottingham Female Political Union (NFPU), which was formed to support the chartist cause. On 5 November 1838 Mary Ann Abbott (the leader of NFPU and the Chartist Chapel Sunday School) led a parade of 4000 people at a Chartist meeting in Nottingham, and on 8 December the Chartist newspaper The Northern Star printed a letter from Mary Savage, Secretary of NFPU, to the ‘Patriotic Women of England’, calling on them to fight against the inequality and lack of rights experienced by the working classes. She writes: ‘You sisters, the patriotic Women of England in these transactions are the most fit and proper persons to deal the blow and most effectually so.’1 06 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY: WOMEN AND SUFFRAGE The campaign for women’s suffrage in In the 1880s a group of liberals supported by Nottinghamshire was longstanding and varied. some town councillors and business people – In 1866, the first mass petition for women’s generally Unitarians, Quakers, Methodists, and suffrage was presented at Parliament. 1521 Congregationalists – formed the Nottingham branch women from across the UK signed, including of the National Women’s Suffrage society and held 50 women from Nottingham. (Further regular meetings, with Ann Cowen as Secretary. information on these 50 women, researched The Mansfield branch was founded in 1893, with by David S Stewart are to be found on the Mrs Emily Manners as Secretary and Miss Louisa Nottingham Women’s History Group website Wright as President. nottinghamwomenshistory.org.uk). During the 1880s and 1890s a few women in In 1871, the Nottingham Committee of the Nottinghamshire became members of School Boards National Society for Women’s Suffrage was formed, and with support from the Bishops of Nottingham with Miss Elizabeth Sunter, the Headmistress of the and Southwell, members of Poor Law Boards. Girls Department of People’s College as Secretary. However, the move to universal suffrage was slow The Committee were as follows: and extremely frustrating. Members of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), led President: Rev R A Armstrong by Millicent Fawcett, were committed to change Vice Presidents: Rev J Matherson, Mr T B Smith through parliamentary and constitutional means and were known as Suffragists. As politicians Mrs Burtt Miss Thornton continually failed to deliver, others such as Emmeline Mr Rigg Mrs Rawle Pankhurst founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1903, with the slogan ‘Deeds Not Mrs Goddard Rev C H Wilkins Words’. These militant women became known as Miss Ada Smith Mr Renwick Suffragettes. A Nottingham branch of the WPSU was founded in 1908.2 Mr Mawson Rev C L Witham Secretary: Miss Sunter 07 Nottinghamshire played host to a wide range King George V was visiting a Nottingham lace factory of campaigners from both organisations. These that day. included Helena Taylor, Lydia Becker, Eleanor During the First World War, the NUWSS and the Rathbone, Edward Carpenter, Millicent Fawcett, WPSU called for action to be suspended so that they Emmeline Pankhurst, Dora Russell, and Princess could focus on the war effort. This in combination Sophia Duleep Singh. Women from Nottinghamshire with women’s increased visibility and experience were active in demonstrations locally and nationally. in a range of jobs – in factories, hospitals, offices, Amongst the suffragettes, the most well known is farms, public transport and many other settings – Helen Kirkpatrick Watts (1881-1972), daughter contributed to a transition in women’s social position of the Vicar of Lenton. On 24 February 1909, and increased public support for the suffrage cause. she attended the WPSU Women’s Parliament in On 6 February 1918 the Representation of the Westminster, and marched to Parliament, where People Act was passed, allowing women over 30 she was arrested and sentenced to a month’s who met a property qualification to vote. imprisonment in Holloway prison. Helen was The Representation of the People Act was followed arrested and imprisoned several more times in by the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act on 1909 and 1910. Outside of prison, she gave talks 21 November 1918, which allowed women to stand in Nottingham and beyond on women’s history, the for Parliament. Viola Rosa Markham was the first inequalities of women’s work, and men’s attitudes women to stand in Nottinghamshire in 1918 for towards women, amongst other topics. In the 1980s, the Division of Mansfield. She was unsuccessful. a suitcase of Helen’s papers was found near the The first female MP in Nottinghamshire was docks in Bristol, with no explanation as to how it got Florence Paton (Labour), who was elected MP for there. You can see photocopies of these papers – Rushcliffe in 1945. The first female Councillors on including letters to and from Helen while she was in Nottingham City Council were Caroline Harper and prison, press cuttings, and scripts of her public talks Helena Dowson, elected in 1920.