Margaret and Norah O’Shea were sisters and suffragist activists. They were the children of Rodney and Elizabeth O’Shea. Margaret, the third child, was born in 1860 and Norah, the sixth child, was born in 1865. From looking at the census returns it is clear that both sisters lived privileged lives before the First World War. … Read more
Although accounts of the suffrage campaign often focus on major cities, such as London and Manchester, it was a national movement. All three of the most prominent societies: the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), and the Women’s Freedom League (WFL) had branches across the country. Gravesend … Read more
Dame Margery Corbett Ashby was a dedicated supporter of women’s rights. She spent much of her long life fighting for women’s right to equal suffrage and citizenship around the world. Born in 1882, she spent her childhood in the family home of Woodgate House (now called Cumnor House), in the village of Danehill in East … Read more
Following the passing of the Representation of the People Act in 1918, which enfranchised some women over 30, the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), the umbrella organisation for the law-abiding ‘suffragists’, evolved into the National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship (NUSEC). Like the NUWSS, the re-branded NUSEC drew together and represented smaller … Read more
Women’s Pioneer Housing is a unique partner of the Citizens project. Set up by women suffragists and suffragettes nearly 100 years ago, it became London’s first post-war housing service for single working women and today it continues to defend its original purpose: to cater for ‘professional and other women of moderate means who require individual … Read more
