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COMING SOON
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Prologue lfracombe, North Devon. January 1909. Marie is late. She hurries through streets unusually busy for a dark January night; not with couples out for an evening stroll or families returning home, but women, hundreds of them, streaming towards the Runnacleave Hotel. She’s tempted to turn back. The hall might be full. No point squeezing herself in at the back where she’ll not hear anything. Besides, there’s more than enough to get on with at home. ‘Marie.’ A voice calls from behind. Marie hesitates, only to be buffeted by women pushing past. ‘Glad I’ve caught up with you.’ Annie Ball tucks her arm through Marie’s. ‘We can go in together, bit of Dutch courage.’ ‘I was just thinking … if it’s going to be busy …’ ‘Brilliant isn’t it? Not every day we get a militant here, so I’m not surprised. Come on.’ There was no arguing with Annie Ball when she set her mind to something. Probably why she made such a good superintendent of the Trained Nurses Institute in Ilfracombe and another in Barnstaple. She was made for business, as well as being an excellent nurse. They hurry on, heads bent against the wind driving around Capstone Hill. It’s the YMCA’s first debate of the year and the organisers have lured Annie Kenney, one of the new breed of militant suffragettes, to this rural outpost. The papers have christened her ‘The Oldham Firebrand’ for her fearless heckling of politicians and Parliament. Not to mention her orchestration of the mass marches and street protests that inevitably end in scuffles with the police and undignified arrests. It promises to be a good night. They join the queue filtering through the conservatory entrance. ‘Oh,’ Marie exclaims, pointing to a notice displayed in the foyer. ‘Miss Adela Pankhurst replaces Miss Annie Kenney for this evening’s debate.’ ‘Would have been good to hear Miss Kenney but think about it, an actual Pankhurst, here in Ilfracombe!’ Annie Ball is irrepressible. ‘I mean, the Pankhursts are forever making headlines up country but can you ever remember one coming here?’ She presses ahead into the cavernous hall that reeks of faded elegance. Mahogany panels frame enormous arched windows, obscured by folds of velvet drapes. ‘But who is Adela Pankhurst?’ Marie asks as Annie leads the way to seats near the front. ‘I’ve heard of Christabel, even Sylvia, but Adela?’ Several men and one woman climb the wooden steps to the stage. ‘That must be her,’ Annie whispers. It would be easy to be underwhelmed by Adela Pankhurst, barely five feet tall, slender and so nervous you’d think there was a price on her head. Nothing like the Amazon many might expect given press coverage of the Pankhursts. The chairman steps forward. ‘The question of woman suffrage is very much to the fore just now and demands serious consideration. Miss Adela Pankhurst will speak for the motion, Mr Blackmore against.’ Adela glances nervously round the hall then steps to the front of the stage. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I’m here to propose that the Parliamentary Franchise should be granted to women on the same terms as men.’ ‘What’s a Parliamentary Franchise?’ Marie whispers. ‘The Vote.’ ‘Men have won their liberty,’ Adela continues. ‘No taxes are imposed or laws made except by their direct representatives in the Commons. But women are excluded from such privilege. They also pay taxes but have no voice in how those taxes are spent.’ Murmurs and mutterings follow every statement, with more than a little heckling from the men. ‘The anti-Suffragettes say a woman’s place is at home. They claim home would be neglected if women had Parliamentary duties. Well, women who have the municipal vote wash up, sew buttons on and cook dinner just as well.’ Laughter ripples across the hall - women’s laughter. ‘Criminals, lunatics, paupers - and women have no vote. Is it not high time to lift us out of such company.’ (Laughter and cheers.) Mr Blackmore takes centre stage. ‘The course proposed by Miss Pankhurst would lead to national disaster! Where is the evidence that the vote is wanted by more than a noisy handful of women? It is too great a sacrifice to gain the Parliamentary vote at the cost of our home life. Women are by nature unfitted for politics: their influence in the proper sphere will be greater without the franchise.’ The chairman has to shout over the bedlam. ‘I would remind you,’ he strains, ‘that it is our tradition to give each speaker a fair hearing. I now open the debate to the floor.’ Arguments for and against rattle across the room until the chairman calls for the speakers to sum up. Adela stands. ‘My opponents have made up their speeches before the meeting and have answered none of my arguments. (Laughter.) In Australia and New Zealand as soon as women had the vote men asked what they wanted.’ Marie gasps as the news sinks in. Britain ruled the Empire yet two of her territories had already given women the vote! If there, why not here? Adela continues. ‘Women care for their children but no woman has a right to her child after it is seven years old. The law then recognises but one parent, the man! Let women have the vote to shape the law.’ (Applause and cheers) Marie shudders. To have no say in her daughter’s life. It was unthinkable. ‘We’ll move to a vote,’ the chairman announces. ‘Those for?’ He pauses as tellers work their way down the rows. ‘Those against?’ Another rustling as arms are raised. But Marie’s hands stay clenched in her lap. So much she has heard this evening has shocked and angered her, but to associate herself with women who commit criminal acts serious enough to put them in prison! It was a step too far - for now. She waits as the clerk hands the Chairman a piece of paper. ‘On the Resolution that the Parliamentary Franchise be granted to women the voting is as follows.’ He pauses for effect. ‘For the motion, 114 Against, 115.’ ‘You see the difference one vote can make,’ Annie says. |
Amazon 5 star Review for Breaking The Mould, Pamela's first book on the Suffragette Story in North Devon
A valuable and fascinating contribution to our understanding of the women's movement.
This exploration of the campaign for women's suffrage in North Devon is a well written and carefully researched account. Although the national picture has been explored before, by focusing down on a specific geographical area and one that was away from the main centers of population, a whole new perspective is given to this topic. The work of the activists in the south-west is clearly set against the wider national context. I thought that the case study, describing the unfolding involvement of Marie Newby, whose story is interspersed between the general narrative, was particularly effective. The fact that I read this in the same way as I would a novel is indicative of its readability. Pamela Vass' detailed investigation into the regional manifestation of a national phenomenon is a valuable and fascinating contribution to our understanding of the women's movement.
A valuable and fascinating contribution to our understanding of the women's movement.
This exploration of the campaign for women's suffrage in North Devon is a well written and carefully researched account. Although the national picture has been explored before, by focusing down on a specific geographical area and one that was away from the main centers of population, a whole new perspective is given to this topic. The work of the activists in the south-west is clearly set against the wider national context. I thought that the case study, describing the unfolding involvement of Marie Newby, whose story is interspersed between the general narrative, was particularly effective. The fact that I read this in the same way as I would a novel is indicative of its readability. Pamela Vass' detailed investigation into the regional manifestation of a national phenomenon is a valuable and fascinating contribution to our understanding of the women's movement.
Reason & Rebellion
Chapter One Excerpt
Tipping Point
1866-1903
On this dark winter’s night in rural Devon ‘Votes for Women’ became more than a slogan vaguely recognised from newspaper headlines. A woman had stepped onto a public stage, shocking in itself, and challenged her audience to wake up and embrace change. Not only that but to publicly join her in that fight for change.
Ironically this was a challenge that wasn’t necessary for many years. A few women were technically able to vote as far back as the 1500’s, although convention and propriety often deterred them. It was far too unladylike to become involved in politics. In 1832 this, often contested, arrangement was ended by the Reform Act which defined a voter in England and Wales as a male person. When Mary Smith from Leeds challenged this the only response was laughter in Parliament and a damning report in The Times which called her petition, ‘simply absurd … in all affairs of civil rights, women are the gainers in their being administered solely by men.’ You can almost hear MPs shouting ‘hear hear’ as they passed laws reinforcing the principle that women were not competent to look after their own interests and needed men to take responsibility for their affairs for their own protection and benefit. Increasingly many women begged to differ. They needed the power to shape the laws that directly affected them. They needed the vote.
So when did Devon women start to lobby for the vote? Possibly earlier than you think. In 1866, Parliament was considering extending voting rights for men. In less than a month, 1499 women from across the country signed a petition demanding the vote for women, including four from Devon: Catherine, Ada and MaryAnne Johnson from Honiton and Mary Caroline Cockrem from Torquay. Four women prepared to risk ridicule and derision to send out a powerful signal that it was increasingly unthinkable for women not to have a public voice on political issues.
The legislation that followed this petition did extend the franchise … but only to some working class men. The amendment presented by John Stuart Mill in favour of women’s suffrage was defeated with just two Devon MPs voting in favour, while five voted against. Curiously, in November 1867, one working class woman did vote. Lily Maxwell from Manchester had a shop so paid rates to the council. All men who paid rates were eligible to vote and somehow, in a by-election that year, Lily’s name appeared on the list of electors. The returning officer had no choice but to hear her vote - ‘hear’ as votes were cast out loud at the time. She had a very clear idea of who she wanted to vote for, Jacob Bright, a Liberal MP and supporter of women’s suffrage, emphatically contradicting a commonly held view that women had no political opinions. But women were still persona non grata when it came to Parliamentary voting. A court dismissed her claim, along with others who tried to exercise the same right, effectively declaring women’s suffrage illegal.
The court ruling in 1868 was a setback but interest in the subject was growing across Devon. A crowded meeting held at the Mechanics Institute in Plymouth in March 1870 debated the motion, ‘That it is expedient to admit women to the franchise.’ Mr Walter Morrison, Liberal MP for Plymouth, who had voted for John Stuart Mill’s amendment, was in favour. He concluded his speech, as reported in the Western Morning News, with a wish that, ‘England would be the first nation to give women full political rights.’ A resolution that women should be allowed the vote was passed unanimously and a petition from the meeting was added to others for Mr Morrison to present to Mr Gladstone, the Prime Minister. Two things leap out from this gathering. On the positive side, a local MP was actively lobbying for women’s votes. On the other hand, this was a meeting exclusively addressed by men, still speaking for women.
It was time for the women to organise. The National Society for Women’s Suffrage was formed in 1867, bringing together established societies in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Dublin, Bristol and Birmingham. The movement was gathering momentum. For the first time, women spoke from public platforms, wrote pamphlets, lobbied MP’s, organised petitions and sent speakers to all parts of the country, including Devon.
Events really took off in the county in 1871 when two ladies arrived to drum up support for a Suffrage Bill going through Parliament. The first was Mrs - or more accurately Madame - Jane Ronniger. As a French artist and performer she was quite a draw, and, according to John Stuart Mill, being pretty helped with the male audiences! A reporter from the Southern Times wrote, ‘She possesses a clear, sweet-toned voice and her enunciation, although a trifle too rapid, is very distinct … Her musical voice fell pleasantly on the ear…’ Mrs Ronniger demonstrated considerable stamina with a speaking programme covering six venues in Cornwall, including delivering the occasional evening of Shakespearian readings, before arriving at Devonport on February 27th.
She asked the meeting to support suffrage for women householders. ‘The ideas as to what women’s suffrage really meant had been so vague and uncertain that for the movement to succeed it had been found necessary for certain advocates to come forward … and so dispel the phantoms which had alarmed quiet-let-well-alone people … It was not intended that a wife should have a vote. It was only proposed that single women and widows who stood at the head of households should have a vote … She had found that wherever these grounds had been stated fairly all opposition rapidly disappeared.’ [The West Briton] It’s worth highlighting her words, that this early movement wasn’t campaigning to achieve votes for all women, but exclusively for single and widowed property-owning women. It was a first step in a movement that was gaining support, demonstrated by figures Jane Ronniger supplied. Over the years there were numerous Parliamentary petitions in support of extending the franchise to women with signatures increasing from 1,499 in 1866, to 134,539 in 1870.
Chapter One Excerpt
Tipping Point
1866-1903
On this dark winter’s night in rural Devon ‘Votes for Women’ became more than a slogan vaguely recognised from newspaper headlines. A woman had stepped onto a public stage, shocking in itself, and challenged her audience to wake up and embrace change. Not only that but to publicly join her in that fight for change.
Ironically this was a challenge that wasn’t necessary for many years. A few women were technically able to vote as far back as the 1500’s, although convention and propriety often deterred them. It was far too unladylike to become involved in politics. In 1832 this, often contested, arrangement was ended by the Reform Act which defined a voter in England and Wales as a male person. When Mary Smith from Leeds challenged this the only response was laughter in Parliament and a damning report in The Times which called her petition, ‘simply absurd … in all affairs of civil rights, women are the gainers in their being administered solely by men.’ You can almost hear MPs shouting ‘hear hear’ as they passed laws reinforcing the principle that women were not competent to look after their own interests and needed men to take responsibility for their affairs for their own protection and benefit. Increasingly many women begged to differ. They needed the power to shape the laws that directly affected them. They needed the vote.
So when did Devon women start to lobby for the vote? Possibly earlier than you think. In 1866, Parliament was considering extending voting rights for men. In less than a month, 1499 women from across the country signed a petition demanding the vote for women, including four from Devon: Catherine, Ada and MaryAnne Johnson from Honiton and Mary Caroline Cockrem from Torquay. Four women prepared to risk ridicule and derision to send out a powerful signal that it was increasingly unthinkable for women not to have a public voice on political issues.
The legislation that followed this petition did extend the franchise … but only to some working class men. The amendment presented by John Stuart Mill in favour of women’s suffrage was defeated with just two Devon MPs voting in favour, while five voted against. Curiously, in November 1867, one working class woman did vote. Lily Maxwell from Manchester had a shop so paid rates to the council. All men who paid rates were eligible to vote and somehow, in a by-election that year, Lily’s name appeared on the list of electors. The returning officer had no choice but to hear her vote - ‘hear’ as votes were cast out loud at the time. She had a very clear idea of who she wanted to vote for, Jacob Bright, a Liberal MP and supporter of women’s suffrage, emphatically contradicting a commonly held view that women had no political opinions. But women were still persona non grata when it came to Parliamentary voting. A court dismissed her claim, along with others who tried to exercise the same right, effectively declaring women’s suffrage illegal.
The court ruling in 1868 was a setback but interest in the subject was growing across Devon. A crowded meeting held at the Mechanics Institute in Plymouth in March 1870 debated the motion, ‘That it is expedient to admit women to the franchise.’ Mr Walter Morrison, Liberal MP for Plymouth, who had voted for John Stuart Mill’s amendment, was in favour. He concluded his speech, as reported in the Western Morning News, with a wish that, ‘England would be the first nation to give women full political rights.’ A resolution that women should be allowed the vote was passed unanimously and a petition from the meeting was added to others for Mr Morrison to present to Mr Gladstone, the Prime Minister. Two things leap out from this gathering. On the positive side, a local MP was actively lobbying for women’s votes. On the other hand, this was a meeting exclusively addressed by men, still speaking for women.
It was time for the women to organise. The National Society for Women’s Suffrage was formed in 1867, bringing together established societies in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Dublin, Bristol and Birmingham. The movement was gathering momentum. For the first time, women spoke from public platforms, wrote pamphlets, lobbied MP’s, organised petitions and sent speakers to all parts of the country, including Devon.
Events really took off in the county in 1871 when two ladies arrived to drum up support for a Suffrage Bill going through Parliament. The first was Mrs - or more accurately Madame - Jane Ronniger. As a French artist and performer she was quite a draw, and, according to John Stuart Mill, being pretty helped with the male audiences! A reporter from the Southern Times wrote, ‘She possesses a clear, sweet-toned voice and her enunciation, although a trifle too rapid, is very distinct … Her musical voice fell pleasantly on the ear…’ Mrs Ronniger demonstrated considerable stamina with a speaking programme covering six venues in Cornwall, including delivering the occasional evening of Shakespearian readings, before arriving at Devonport on February 27th.
She asked the meeting to support suffrage for women householders. ‘The ideas as to what women’s suffrage really meant had been so vague and uncertain that for the movement to succeed it had been found necessary for certain advocates to come forward … and so dispel the phantoms which had alarmed quiet-let-well-alone people … It was not intended that a wife should have a vote. It was only proposed that single women and widows who stood at the head of households should have a vote … She had found that wherever these grounds had been stated fairly all opposition rapidly disappeared.’ [The West Briton] It’s worth highlighting her words, that this early movement wasn’t campaigning to achieve votes for all women, but exclusively for single and widowed property-owning women. It was a first step in a movement that was gaining support, demonstrated by figures Jane Ronniger supplied. Over the years there were numerous Parliamentary petitions in support of extending the franchise to women with signatures increasing from 1,499 in 1866, to 134,539 in 1870.