Margaret Ashton | |
|---|---|
.jpg) At the Free Trade Hall in 1909 | |
| Born | 19 January 1856 |
| Died | 15 October 1937 (aged 81) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Known for | First woman city councillor for Manchester |
Margaret Ashton (19 January 1856 – 15 October 1937) was an English suffragist, local politician, pacifist and philanthropist, and the first woman city councillor for Manchester.
Career
[edit]Margaret Ashton was the first woman to run for election to Manchester City Council, and in 1908 became the first woman city councillor when she was elected Councillor for Manchester Withington.[1]
As a member of Manchester's public health committee and chair of the maternity and child welfare subcommittee, Ashton endorsed municipal mother and baby clinics and promoted free milk for babies and new mothers. In 1914 she founded the Manchester Babies Hospital with Dr Catherine Chisholm (1878–1952).[2]
With the outbreak of the first world war in 1914, Ashton was amongst the internationalist minority who split from the NUWSS and the suffragette movement. She was a signatory of the 'Open Christmas Letter', a call for peace addressed in sisterhood "To the Women of Germany and Austria", which was published in Jus Suffragii in January 1915.[3] She started a Manchester branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.[1]
In 1920 the Women's Farm and Garden Union established a set of small holdings in 1920 for women in Surrey. The initial funders were Margaret Ashton who found £5,000 and Sydney Renee Courtauld who lent £4,000.[4]
Legacy
[edit]In 1938, some friends and admirers of Ashton formed a memorial committee which funded two activities:
- A seat in the Manchester Town Hall for the use of the Lady Mayoress and other guests. On the reverse of the seat was a table recording her accomplishments.
- A bi-annual memorial lecture series, organised by the Victoria University of Manchester, alternating between the university and the Corporation of Manchester. The first lecture, on the Victorians, was given by Mary Stocks, the principal of Westfield College on 20 March 1941.[5]
In 1982, the Harpurhey High School for Girls was re-opened as Margaret Ashton Sixth Form College.
Her name and picture (and those of 58 other women's suffrage supporters) are on the plinth of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square, London; it was unveiled in 2018.[6][7][8]
Margaret Ashton was one of six women on a shortlist for a new public statue in Manchester, but lost out to Emmeline Pankhurst in the public vote.[9]
In 2022, a mural depicting Ashton, by artist Emma Bowen,[10] was painted on a wall at Cavendish Community Primary School in West Didsbury. Ashton had laid the school's foundation stone in 1904.[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Where I live: Manchester: Who was Margaret Ashton?". BBC Manchester. BBC. 4 July 2006.
- ^ Mohr, Peter (2004). "Ashton, Margaret (1856–1937), local politician and philanthropist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/38511. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Liddington, Jill (1989). The long road to Greenham: feminism and anti-militarism in Britain since 1820. London: Virago. ISBN 9780860686880.
- ^ Meredith, Anne. "From ideals to reality: The women's smallholding colony at Lingfield, 1920–39" (PDF). Agricultural History Review. 54: 105–121.
- ^ Stocks, Mary D., "Margaret Ashton Memorial Lecture 20th March, 1941", in Stocks, Mary D. (ed.), The Victorians, Manchester University Lectures Series, no. 36., Manchester University Press, OCLC 6923286 Preview.
- ^ "Historic statue of suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett unveiled in Parliament Square". Gov.uk. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- ^ Topping, Alexandra (24 April 2018). "First statue of a woman in Parliament Square unveiled". The Guardian.
- ^ "Millicent Fawcett statue unveiling: the women and men whose names will be on the plinth". iNews. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ Williams, Jennifer (20 October 2015). "Shortlist of six iconic women revealed for Manchester's first female statue for 100 Years". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ "Emma Bowen". womeninprint.co.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ "Municipal School, Cavendish Road, West Didsbury". manchestervictorianarchitects.org.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
Further reading
[edit]- Bedford, Jane (1998). "Margaret Ashton: Manchester's "First Lady"". Manchester Region History Review. 12: 3–17. ISSN 0952-4320. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- Mohr, Peter D. (September 2004). "Ashton, Margaret (1856-1937), local politician and philanthropist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/38511. ISBN 9780198614128. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- "Where I live: Manchester: Who was Margaret Ashton?". BBC Manchester. BBC. 4 July 2006.
- "Margaret Ashton (biography)". spartacus-educational.com. Spartacus Educational.