Barbara Wootton
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Barbara Wootton, Baroness Wootton of Abinger, CH (14 April 1897 – 11 July 1988) was a British sociologist and
criminologist Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...
. She was the first of four women to be appointed as a life peer, entitled to serve in the House of Lords, under the
Life Peerages Act 1958 The Life Peerages Act 1958 established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Background This Act was made during the Conservative governments of 1957–1964, when Harold Macmillan was Prime M ...
, after the names of the holders of the first 14 life peerages to be created had been announced on 24 July. She was President of the British Sociological Association from 1959 to 1964.


Early life

Wootton was born Barbara Adam on 14 April 1897 in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
, England. She had two older brothers. Her father, James Adam (1860–1907) was a classicist and tutor at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Her mother, Adele Marion, was a fellow of
Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...
. Wootton was educated at the Perse School for Girls. She studied Classics and Economics at
Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...
from 1915 to 1919, winning the Agnata Butler Prize in 1917. Wootton gained a first class in her final exams, but as a woman she was prevented from appending BA to her name.A. H. Halsey, ‘Wootton , Barbara Frances, Baroness Wootton of Abinger (1897–1988)’, rev. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2009 accessed 23 Oct 2017
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Professional life


Inter-war period

On leaving Cambridge Wootton moved to the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...
to take up a research studentship. In 1920 she took up a fellowship at
Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...
. She was appointed Director of Studies and Lecturer in Economics in the college. During this time the board of economics invited her to lecture on economics and the state. She left Girton to take up a post as a research officer at the TUC jointly with the Labour Party Research Department. She worked for the next four years on workers educational issues, such as adult literacy. From 1926 she was principal of Morley College for Working Men and Women in the Yorkshire clothier districts. The following year she returned to London to a promotion as Director of Studies for Tutorials at the University of London. In the 1930s Wootton was a member of the
Federal Union A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
and represented the Union in a historic debate against
Edgar Hardcastle Edgar Richard "Hardy" Hardcastle (1899 – June 1995) was a theoretician of Marxist economics. The son of a founder member of the Socialist Party of Great Britain, Hardcastle went to prison as a socialist conscientious objector in the First Worl ...
of the
Socialist Party of Great Britain The Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB) is a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1904 as a split from the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), it advocates using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes and oppo ...
, which was later published as a pamphlet. She served on the Royal Commission investigating workmen's compensation schemes (1938–44).


Second World War

During the Second World War Wootton considered herself to be a conscientious objector, although she was never liable for military service. She was, however, required, under the Registration for Employment Order 1941, to be interviewed in 1943 by a National Service Officer of the
Ministry of Labour and National Service Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...
, who deemed her service as an unpaid
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
to be of sufficient value as not to require direction to any employment. With her agreement, her husband, George Wright, registered as a conscientious objector in 1941, and did farm work and later
civil defence Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mit ...
work.


Post-war

Wootton served as a chairman of juvenile court magistrates in London for nearly 20 years (1946–62), and as a lay magistrate (1926–70). In 1948, she became Professor of Social Studies at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
. In 1952, she transferred within the university to take up a Nuffield Research Fellowship at Bedford College. She did extensive research into the pathological effects of social research and their economic benefits. The findings were published in Wootton's ''Social Science and Social Pathology'' in 1959. Wootton was governor of the
British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
(BBC) from 1950 to 1956. She also served on two major post-war Royal Commissions on the
press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...
and civil service. In 1968, she was awarded an honorary degree (Doctor of Science) by the
University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...
. In 1969 she was made an honorary fellow of
Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...
. In 1977 she was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH). In 1985 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
. In 1984 she was chosen as one of six women for the BBC 2 series ''Women of Our Century''. She was created a life peer on 8 August 1958 with the title Baroness Wootton of Abinger, ''of Abinger Common in the County of Surrey'', on the advice of Harold Macmillan and was thereby one of the first women to sit in the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
; she also became the first woman to sit on the
Woolsack The Woolsack is the seat of the Lord Speaker in the House of Lords, the Upper House of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Before 2006, it was the seat of the Lord Chancellor. History In the 14th century King Edward III (1327–1377) said th ...
as a Deputy Speaker. She was the chairperson of the
Wootton Report The Wootton Report on ''cannabis'' (dated 1968 and published in January 1969) was compiled by the Sub-committee on Hallucinogens of the United Kingdom Home Office Advisory Committee on Drug Dependence. The sub-committee was chaired by Barone ...
concerning
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
. She also supported the
Sexual Offences Act 1967 The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom (citation 1967 c. 60). It legalised homosexual acts in England and Wales, on the condition that they were consensual, in private and between two men who had attained t ...
which partially decriminalised male homosexuality. She was the first chairman of the
Countryside Commission The Countryside Commission (formally the Countryside Commission for England and Wales, then the Countryside Commission for England) was a statutory body in England and Wales, and later in England only. Its forerunner, the National Parks Commissio ...
. In 1960, she wrote an article for the ''New Statesman'' on women's social position in Britain, reviewing and commenting on Joan Barnes's pamphlet "A Woman's Place: Wider Horizons". Wootton observed that "
uch Uch ( pa, ; ur, ), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf ( pa, ; ur, ; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a historic city in the southern part of Pakistan's Punjab province. Uch may have been founded as Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by Alexan ...
indeed has been accomplished. In nearly every sphere of public activity the sex which constitutes the majority of the population is now at least a visible minority. But almost always a minority ... Contemporary discriminations are of a subtler order – and for that reason more difficult to deal with." She conceded that " athematicalequality of the sexes in public and professional life cannot, of course, be expected", but proposed that men and women share more domestic responsibilities: "Here then is where the next revolution is needed ... nall social classes the role of fathers ... no longer ends with wiping up. In more and more homes father at least occasionally baths the children or takes them out on Saturdays or Sundays ... I can see no reason why we should not travel much further along this road – almost, if not quite, as far as the point at which everything that can be shared is shared." Although such a change would necessitate "great reorganisations ... in working hours and arrangements in the industrial and professional worlds ... greater social changes than this have happened before." This hope for (nearly) equal sharing of domestic labor is still unrealized in Britain nearly 60 years later. Ethically, she was a supporter of
utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different chara ...
. She supported the Incurable Patients Bill in the 1970s which would have allowed
doctor-assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...
. Her anti-abortion views had no religious basis but led her to be removed from her position as vice-president of the
British Humanist Association Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious b ...
.


Publications

Wootton wrote several books on economic and sociological subjects, including ''Lament for Economics'' (1938), ''End Social Inequality'' (1941), ''Freedom Under Planning'' (1945), ''Social Science and Social Pathology'' (1959), ''Crime and the Criminal Law'' (1964) and ''Incomes Policy'' (1974). In ''Crime and the Criminal Law'' she controversially advocated that all crimes ought to be crimes of strict liability (see Elliott, C. & Quinn, F. 2010. ''Criminal Law''. 8th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Ltd). In other words, it was her contention that ''mens rea'' – the 'guilty mind' – should not be taken into account. This would remove the burden from the prosecution of proving intent or recklessness.


Personal life

One of her brothers, Captain Arthur Innes Adam, was killed in France on 16 September 1916 and another brother, Neil Kensington Adam, became a noted chemist. In 1917, she married John "Jack" Wootton. They had thirty-six hours together as husband and wife, before she saw him off to France. He was wounded during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and died weeks after their marriage. In 1935, Wootton married George Wright, a colleague in adult education and London government. Despite Wright's
infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and ri ...
, the couple remained married until his death from cancer in 1964. The couple had no children. Wootton died in a care home in Surrey on 11 July 1988, aged 91.


Further reading

*


Notes


References

* * "Edgar Richard Hardcastle ("Hardy"): Obituary". '' Socialist Studies'' № 17, pp. 17–20. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wootton, Barbara Baroness Wootton of Abinger British sociologists British women sociologists British criminologists British humanists Academics of Bedford College, London Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Fellows of Girton College, Cambridge Members of the Fabian Society Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Wootton of Abinger 1897 births 1988 deaths People educated at the Perse School for Girls Presidents of the British Sociological Association 20th-century British women politicians British women criminologists Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II