Frances Sarah Beckett born Frances Sarah Bousfield became Frances Thomas (1814 – 7 September 1902) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

philanthropist and promoter and organiser of

Harris Tweed Harris Tweed, (''Clò Mór'' or ''Clò Hearach'' in Gaelic) is a tweed (cloth), tweed cloth that is Weaving, handwoven by islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool ...

Life

Her parents were Elizabeth (born Dingley) and George Thomas Frederick Bousfield and she was born in 1814. Her father was a solicitor and she came to notice after she moved to the Hebridean isle of

Lewis and Harris Lewis and Harris ( gd, Leòdhas agus na Hearadh, sco, Lewis an Harris), or Lewis with Harris, is a single Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides, divided by mountains. It is the largest island in Scotland and the third largest in the British ...

with her husband, Frederick William Leopold Thomas, who was Captain in the Royal Navy. They had married on 2 December 1841 at

St Paul's, Deptford St Paul's, Deptford, is one of London's finest Baroque parish churches, cited as "one of the most moving C18 churches in London" in the ''Buildings of England'' series. It was designed by gentleman architect Thomas Archer and built between 171 ...

. She was surprised to see how poor the people were on the island and decided to help them. She had been given a pair of excellent hand knitted socks and in 1859 she went to Edinburgh where she created an agency for the sale of these socks and stockings. She worked with the landowner Catherine Murray, Countess of Dunmore to create the business of weaving

. The Countess had inherited of the Dunmore estate on the "island" of

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle of ...

in 1845 when her husband died. At the Edinburgh Exhibition of 1886 the socks from Harris won first prize and Harris Tweed won the prize for their excellence of manufacture. Beckett moved to London in 1888 and the "Scottish Home Industries" which managed the new product, became a limited company in 1896. She was a widow and she married James Flowers Beckett in 1890. He was retired but had been another Royal Navy officer.

Philanthropy

In addition to her assistance to textile workers on the isle of Harris and Tweed she was also involved in several initiatives to improve the lot of the people there. In 1860 she was involved in the new church and manse at

Tarbert Tarbert ( gd, An Tairbeart) is a place name in Scotland and Ireland. Places named Tarbert are characterised by a narrow strip of land, or isthmus. This can be where two lochs nearly meet, or a causeway out to an island. Etymology All placenames ...

and in getting the minister's children educated. Even after she remarried and moved to London she paid for a cottage to be built for a nurse at

Manish Manish (''also'' Maneesh) (Devanagari: मनिष ''or'' मनीष) is a common Hindu masculine given name that literally means "The God of the Mind" or the one who has controlled and mastered one's mind (representing an intellectual, geniu ...

and sent an endowment. Tarbert's minister said that "Harris, perhaps, owes more to her than to anybody else". It is estimated that she helped 800 people to emigrate from the outer Hebrides to Canada or Australia. Beckett died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1902.

References

1814 births 1902 deaths Harris, Outer Hebrides {{more cats, date=December 2020