Swindon in the Past Lane

Today marks the anniversary of Emmeline Pankhurst's birthday, although the date is still up for debate. Emmeline always celebrated her birthday on July 14 aligning her arrival with that other revolutionary happening, Bastille Day. It is more generally accepted that she was born in Manchester on July 15, 1858, the second of Robert and Jane Goulden's ten children. Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline's involvement in socialist politics began in the 1890s when she joined the fledgling Independent Labour Park with her husband Richard Pankhurst. Her conviction that the only way women could improve their situation, still very much one of subordination to men across every stratum of society, was to campaign for the parliament vote. In 1903 the widowed Emmeline and her daughter Christabel founded the Women's Social and Political Union in Manchester and three years later moved their organisation down to headquarters in London. Mrs Pankhurst under police escort On May 19...

Continuing a series of blogposts in the lead up to the Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale on November 12 at the Christ Church Community Centre. In the February 11, 1909 edition of the Votes for Women newspaper a list was published naming those women who had already signed up for the Women’s Exhibition and Sale of Work. Kensington WSPU            One General Stall Kensington WSPU            Millinery Stall Streatham WSPU             Stall for Children’s Clothing Richmond WSPU              One Stall Chelsea WSPU                   Artists’ Stall London Western Unions (Hammersmith, Chiswick, Barnes)         ...

In the lead up to 2018, the 100th anniversary of when some (though not all) women got the vote, join us for events celebrating suffragettes and Edith New. Swindon Suffragette in collaboration with Swindon Heritage will be holding a Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale at Christ Church Community Rooms on November 12, 1-4. The inspiration for this event is the Women's Exhibition of 1909 held at the Prince's Skating Rink, Knightsbridge in 1909. During the lead up to the event I will be publishing extracts from the suffragette newspaper Votes for Women following preparations as they developed. The Women's Exhibition The arrangements for the great exhibition to be held in the Prince’s Skating Rink by the Women’s Social and Political Union from May 13 to May 26 are already in active progress. The response to the appeal of Mrs Pethick Lawrence is bearing splendid fruit, and a very large number of friends of the Union have already come forward and offered to ta...

About forty people joined the Swindon Suffragette team on a guided walk around Old Town today visiting the places significant to Edith New, the Swindon born suffragette, who was the first to to chain herself to railings and to break windows at 10 Downing Street as a means of protest in the Votes for Women campaign. Following her release from Holloway prison in August 1908, Edith returned to Swindon to recuperate from her ordeal.  She stayed with her mother at 29 Lethbridge Road where a reporter from the Swindon Advertiser visited her and the following account was published in the newspaper. Swindon Advertiser Monday, September 7, 1908. Votes For Women Miss Edith New in Swindon The Active Suffragist interviewed Swindon to be visited Miss Edith New, whose name has been so prominently before the public in connection with the votes for women campaign, and who is a native of Swindon, has been taking a well earned rest in the railway town during the past fe...