Struggle and Suffrage

'Women are not persons.' That was the ruling of the Court of Appeal when Gwynneth Bebb challenged the Law Society to allow her to take exams and become a solicitor. The case was dismissed because only 'persons' (i.e. males) could become members of the Law Society and it proved the depth of misogyny within the Establishment at that time. 'Suffrage and Struggle in Manchester' celebrates the struggle for the recognition of female rights, the centenary of female suffrage and the 90th anniversary of universal suffrage, as well as the female achievements and freedoms gained during those years. For much of the 19th century hundreds of thousands of women were simply legalised slaves with no rights. The suffrage movement was born in the appalling conditions of the 19th century Manchester millscapes, although the later militant suffrage campaign was led by Emmeline Pankhurst, together with her daughters Christabel, Sylvia and Adela. Opposition to female suffrage came from other women, like Margot Asquith and Beatrice Webb, but it was the effort of all women during the Great War which finally won women the vote. Marie Stopes also played a part in female emancipation through her pioneering work in birth control, but her motives had sinister undertones. This is also the story of the countless thousands of women of Manchester, whose names are lost to us, but without whose strength, willingness and determination the development of modern Britain would have been very different. This is their story as much as the story of those who made the headlines and gained their place in the history books.

A portrait of the battle for voting rights in a rural English county, and the dramatic life and death of one fierce suffragette. For much of the nineteenth century, the women of Northumberland occupied crucial, though largely underappreciated, roles in society. Aside from the hard life of raising families in an area where money was often hard to come by and much of the available work was labor-intensive and dangerous, women were also expected to help bring money into the household. In what was a largely agrarian county, female laborers, known as bondagers, were widely respected for their contribution to the local economy, though there were those who criticized the system for forcing women to undertake hard manual labor. The farming economy in Northumberland depended so much on female labor that many men found it easier to be taken on by an employer if they were able to bring a suitable female worker with them. The period was also one of considerable upheaval. There were a number of prominent Northumbrian suffragists, and the local radical suffragettes launched attacks in the area. Morpeth was a very early supporter of women's suffrage, and the mayor and local council actively supported the cause, though they remained largely opposed to the actions of the suffragettes. Among other topics, this book follows the story of London-born Emily Wilding Davison, whose mother was Northumbrian and had a wide network of relations in the county. After her father's death, her mother relocated to the Northumberland village of Longhorsley and Emily spent long periods with her, recuperating after her numerous hunger strikes. Famously losing her life after being struck by the king's horse at the 1913 Epsom Derby, Emily was buried with great ceremony in a quiet churchyard and to this day remains one of Morpeth's most famous (adopted) daughters, her grave a site of pilgrimage for supporters of women's rights.

Between 1800 and 1950 the town of Halifax grew beyond recognition. The booming mills and factories were built on the labor of women and their children, and yet their voices are almost completely missing from the history books. For the first time, this is the story of Halifax from the point of view of the women who helped shape the town. This was a period of extraordinary change, but the battle for equality was long. In 1800, many women were illiterate. By 1900, there was a thriving girls' high school in Halifax, and yet one of its most brilliant students was denied a full degree because she was a woman. In 1939, the Vicar of Halifax called women's economic independence "an evil". Families were large and women regularly died in childbirth. Many faced the stigma of single parenthood or else the terror of an illegal abortion. In the 1930s, the first Family Planning Clinic was set up by women in the town. In the 1840s, women in Halifax fought for their menfolk's right to vote. In 1911, when Emmeline Pankhurst gave a stirring speech at the Mechanics' Institute, women had yet to be granted a vote of their own, leading many women to boycott that year's census and at least two to declare their occupation as "slave". From girls in the factories to the first women stepping into public office, this book provides a fascinating and moving account of the lives of Halifax's women through the key events in the town's history.

In 1850, the population of Bradford was 103,000, having soared from 34,000 just ten years earlier. The town was on the cusp of worldwide fame as, over the coming decades, it would grow to become the wool capital of the world. Struggle and Suffrage in Bradford explores what it was like to be a woman in Bradford between the years 1850 and 1950 – a century of incredible change as the town became a city and women's roles, both at home and in society, altered dramatically. Bradford-born author Rachel Bellerby explores a wide range of sources to share incredible tales of Bradford women of all classes, using oral testimonies, newspaper reports and official documentation. This is the story of the struggles and prejudice which women overcame, a celebration of the achievements of Bradford women, and a fresh new look at a history, which, until now, has focused largely on men.

If you've ever wondered how life changed so much for women over the hundred years between 1850 and 1950, this is a great introduction. During this period, women went from being seen as merely possessions of their fathers or husbands to being individuals who had the right to own property, to enter the professions and to keep the proceeds of their employment. They gained access to education and began to take part in the running of local councils, leading eventually to becoming part of the Government of the country. Focusing on women in Huddersfield during these years, the stories range from the well-known ladies who were instrumental in obtaining the vote for women or led the much needed work to support the armed forces during both world wars to those who simply battled to keep their families fed, clothed and healthy during all the changes of those momentous years.

While Southend-on-Sea, like many seaside towns, may not have been at the forefront of the struggle for suffrage and equal rights in the lives of women between 1850 and 1950, there are surprisingly famous names linked to the town and its women. Novelist Rebecca West, living in nearby Leigh-on-Sea during the First World War (and her lover, H.G. Wells) played a key role in the suffrage and feminist movements and in women's entry into the scientific and literary professions. Princess Louise, a visitor to the town, was known to be a feminist, regardless of her position, and Mrs. Margaret Kineton-Parkes (founder member of the Women's Tax Resistance League and involved in the Women's Freedom League) gave a number of talks to the town's female population. The most high profile of local residents was Mrs. Rosa Sky, the one-time Treasurer of the Women's Social and Political Union and an active member of the Women's Tax Resistance League, but others were quietly active behind the scenes. This book is not about the distinguished and illustrious, it is about women from all classes, from all kinds of backgrounds, who entered the world of business, who rebelled against the traditional roles of mother, homemaker or domestic servant. It is about women struggling to come to terms with changes at home, in marriage, in education, in health care and in politics. It is the first to look at these issues as they impacted on a town whose population and visitors were growing in line with the expectations of its female population.

It's freezing, pitch black, and silent- apart from the sound of rats under the bed your wheezing children share. Snow has blown in under the door overnight. Fetching all the water you need from the communal well will be a slippery job today. If your husband gives you some money, your family can eat. If not, hard luck. You'll all have to go hungry. Welcome to the life of a Victorian woman living in one of Bristol's riverside tenements. Women lurked in the footnotes of history until they gained an element of control, first over their own money, later their vote and finally, their lives. Much of that progress was driven by women themselves. It took a hundred years of hard work, lobbying and violence before their lives improved to anything like today's standards. The only way was up-and Bristol women led the way.

Windsor's role in the women's suffrage story is a fascinating one and yet has received very little attention. At drawing room meetings, debates and rallies suffragists fought not just for the right to put a cross on a ballot paper but so that they could help put an end to some of the shocking injustices women faced, some of which were especially felt in Windsor at that time. It was no easy task — they came up against fierce opposition, ridicule and rage, with one newspaper saying Windsor was the town in which the suffragettes were "most cordially hated." From Queen Victoria to Princess Elizabeth, the women of Windsor have played a major role in shaping this country. But what of the lesser-known women? The untold and often intertwined stories of the rich and famous are brought together with those of domestic staff, nuns, nurses, school teachers, mothers, shopkeepers, beggars and prostitutes who all played a part in a century of extraordinary social changes. What was it like to be a female resident of the workhouse? Or the lady who founded a home for destitute women and the 'fallen women' who lived there? The lady who allowed her home to be used as a hospital in WWI and the nurses who worked there? For those who lived in the cholera-infested Victorian slums and the women evacuated to Windsor with their children during WWII? And those who campaigned tirelessly to improve women's rights and get the vote? This book provides a fascinating, behind-the-scenes insight into women's lives above and below stairs in this unique microcosm of Britain.