Suffragettes boycotting 1911 census in Manchester

These British suffragettes and suffragists are known to have participated in the boycott of the 1911 United Kingdom census. The number of boycotters has been estimated to have been in the thousands, but was probably fewer than 100,000 in total. Notable women who participated in the boycott include: * Laura Ainsworth, 38 other women and one man sought to hide in Jezreel's Tower in

Gillingham, Kent Gillingham ( ) is a town in Kent, England, which forms a conurbation with neighbouring Chatham, Kent, Chatham, Rochester, Kent, Rochester, Strood and Rainham, Kent, Rainham. It is the largest town in the borough of Medway and in 2020 had a populat ...

, but they were betrayed and still counted by census officials. * Rhoda Anstey: participated on behalf of the

Anstey College of Physical Education Anstey College of Physical Education, founded in 1897 as the Anstey Physical Training College, was a pioneer training college for teachers of girls' physical education, only the second such institution for women in the United Kingdom. Located for ...

, which she had founded in 1897 * Helen Archdale: hosted a mass census boycott party with Adela Pankhurst * Minnie Baldock * Inez Bensusan: member of the

Actresses' Franchise League The Actresses' Franchise League was a women's suffrage organisation, mainly active in England. Founding In 1908 the Actresses' Franchise League was founded by Gertrude Elliott, Adeline Bourne, Winifred Mayo and Sime Seruya at a meeting in ...

who performed during a mass evasion party * Rosa May Billinghurst *

Mary Blathwayt Mary Blathwayt (1 February 1879 – 25 June 1961) was a British feminist, suffragette and social reformer. She lived at Eagle House in Somerset. This house became known as the "Suffragette's Rest" and contained a memorial to the protests o ...

Nina Boyle Constance Antonina Boyle (21 December 1865 – 4 March 1943) was a British journalist, campaigner for women's suffrage and women's rights, charity and welfare worker, and novelist. She was one of the pioneers of women police officers in Britain. ...

Georgina Brackenbury Georgina "Ina" Agnes Brackenbury (1 July 1865 – 27 July 1949) was a British painter who was known as a militant suffragette. She was jailed for demonstrating for women's rights. She followed Emmeline Pankhurst's lead as she became more militan ...

Marie Brackenbury Marie Venetia Caroline Brackenbury (1866–1950) was a British painter who was a militant suffragette and suffragette artist. She was jailed for demonstrating for women's rights. She followed Emmeline Pankhurst's lead as she became more militant ...

* Constance Bryer * Florence Canning *

Joan Cather Joan Cather (1882–1967) was a suffragette, awarded a Hunger Strike Medal, 'For Valour' and a Holloway brooch for imprisonment in the cause of women's rights to vote, and also as protest refused to take part in the 1911 British Census. Life ...

and her husband * Joseph Clayton * Annie Coultate * Ellen Crocker *

Hilda Dallas Hilda Mary Dallas (1878–1958) was a British artist and a suffragette who designed suffrage posters and cards and took a leadership role for the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). A pacifist, she raised funds from a cross-section of so ...

Irene Dallas Irene Margaret Dallas (1883–1971) was a suffragette activist, speaker and organiser who held leadership roles in the WSPU; she was arrested and imprisoned with a group who tried to gain access to 10 Downing Street. Life and activism Irene M ...

Emily Davison Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913) was an English suffragette who fought for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, votes for women in Britain in the early twentieth century. A member of the Women's Social and Polit ...

: hid in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

and was thus registered as an 'occupant' of the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

and enumerated in Parliament. * Lillian Dove-Willcox: organised the boycott in

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England; situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, close to the border with Somerset. The town lies south-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south-west of Swindon and south-east of Brist ...

Flora Drummond Flora McKinnon Drummond (née Gibson; 4 August 1878 – 17 January 1949) was a British suffragette. Nicknamed 'The General' for her habit of leading women's rights marches wearing a military style uniform 'with an officers cap and epaulettes'Sy ...

Bessie Drysdale Bessie Drysdale (''née'' Ingram Edwards, 1871–1950) was a British teacher, suffragette activist, birth control campaigner, Eugenics, eugenicist and writer. She was a member of the Women's Social and Political Union, Women’s Social and Pol ...

: wrote on her form: “as the Government refuses me a vote and as I am not therefore recognised as a citizen, I refuse to perform the duties of one in giving the information required by the Government” *

Florence Earengey Florence Earengey (''née'' How; 1877–1963) was a British suffragette and a member of the Women's Freedom League. Life Born in 1877 in Cheltenham, Earengey was the daughter of John How, a successful grocer and tea dealer. Her sister Edith ...

* Dorothy Evans: organised parties for census boycotters in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Millicent Fawcett Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (; 11 June 1847 – 5 August 1929) was an English political activist and writer. She campaigned for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, women's suffrage by Law reform, legal change and in 1897–1919 led Brita ...

* Ada Flatman * Florence Gertrude de Fonblanque *

Eva Gore-Booth Eva Selina Laura Gore-Booth (22 May 1870 – 30 June 1926) was an Irish poet, theologian, and dramatist, and a committed suffragist, social worker and labour activist. She was born at Lissadell House, County Sligo, the younger sister of Co ...

Kate Harvey Kate Harvey (13 November 1862 – 29 April 1946) was an English suffragist, physiotherapist, and charity worker. Profoundly deaf and widowed at a young age, she operated a home for women and children, and then later for disabled children. She p ...

Alice Hawkins Alice Hawkins (Stafford, 1863 – Leicester, 1946) was a leading English suffragette among the boot and shoe machinists of Leicester. She went to prison five times for acts committed as part of the Women’s Social and Political Union militant c ...

Vera Holme Vera Louise Holme, also known as Jack Holme (29 August 1881 – 1 January 1969), was a British actress and a suffragette. Born in Lancashire, she began working as a touring male impersonator when her parents could no longer support her. A tale ...

Clemence Housman Clemence Annie Housman (23 November 1861 – 6 December 1955) was an author, illustrator and activist in the women's suffrage movement. She was the sister of A. E. Housman and Laurence Housman. Her novels included ''The Were-Wolf'', ''Unknown Se ...

Laurence Housman Laurence Housman (; 18 July 1865 – 20 February 1959) was an English playwright, writer and illustrator whose career stretched from the 1890s to the 1950s. He studied art in London and worked largely as an illustrator during the first years o ...

: advertised the boycott in several writings *

Edith How-Martyn Edith How-Martyn (''née'' How; 17 June 1875 – 2 February 1954) was a British suffragette and a member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). She was arrested in 1906 for attempting to make a speech in the House of Commons of the Un ...

Elsie Howey Rose Elsie Neville Howey (1 December 1884 – 13 March 1963), known as Elsie Howey, was an English suffragette. She was a militant activist with the Women's Social and Political Union and was jailed at least six times between 1908 and 1912. Ear ...

: refused to be enumerated and wrote "Votes for Women" on her form *

Maud Joachim Maud Joachim (1 August 1869 – 16 February 1947) was a member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), one of the groups of suffragettes that fought for women to get the right to vote in the United Kingdom. She was jailed several time ...

* Violet Key Jones: organised the suffragette boycott in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

* Helena Jones *

Annie Kenney Ann "Annie" Kenney (13 September 1879 – 9 July 1953) was an English working-class suffragette and socialist feminist who became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. She co-founded its first branch in London with Minnie ...

: organised the census boycott in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Lilian Lenton Lilian Ida Lenton (5 January 1891 – 28 October 1972) was an English dancer and militant suffragette, and later a winner of a French Red Cross medal for her service as an orderly in World War I. She committed crimes, including arson, for the s ...

* Marion Mackenzie *

Mildred Mansel Mildred Ella Mansel (, c. 1868 – 11 March 1942) was a British suffragette and organiser for the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Bath. Family Mansel was born in 1868 in Roehampton, Surrey. Her parents were the conservative po ...

: hired 12 Lansdowne Crescent in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

to be used by the 35 local census evaders *

Katherine "Kitty" Marshall Katherine "Kitty" Marshall (born Emily Katherine Jacques; 1870–1947) was a British suffragette known for her role in the militant Women's Social and Political Union and as one of the bodyguard for the movement's leaders who had been trained in ...

Muriel Matters Muriel Lilah Matters (12 November 1877 – 17 November 1969) also known as Muriel Matters-Porter, was an Australian-born suffragist, lecturer, journalist, educator, actress and elocutionist. Based in Britain from 1905 until her death, Matters i ...

* Winifred Mayo *

Decima Moore Lilian Decima, Lady Moore-Guggisberg, Order of the British Empire, CBE (11 December 1871 – 18 February 1964), better known by her stage name Decima Moore, was an English singer and actress, known for her performances in soprano roles with ...

Ethel Moorhead Ethel Agnes Mary Moorhead (28 August 18694 March 1955) was a British suffragette and Painting, painter and was the first suffragette in Scotland to be forcibly-fed. She was also a patron of ''This Quarter'', a journal published by Ernest Walsh ...

* Clara Neal *

Henry Nevinson Henry Woodd Nevinson (11 October 1856 – 9 November 1941) was an English war correspondent during the Second Boer War and World War I, a campaigning journalist exposing slavery in western Africa, political commentator and suffragist."Nevinson ...

Margaret Nevinson Margaret Wynne Nevinson (née Jones; 11 January 1858 – 8 June 1932) was a British suffrage campaigner and author. She was one of the radical activists who in 1907–8 split from established suffragist groups to form the Women's Freedom Le ...

and an undetermined number of other women documented their reasons for refusal *

Adela Pankhurst Adela Constantia Mary Walsh ( Pankhurst; 19 June 1885 – 23 May 1961) was a British-born suffragette who worked as a political organiser for the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Scotland. In 1914 she moved to Australia where she co ...

Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed Suffragette bombing and arson ca ...

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst (; Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was a British political activist who organised the British suffragette movement and helped women to win in 1918 the women's suffrage, right to vote in United Kingdom of Great Brita ...

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Baroness Pethick-Lawrence (; 21 October 1867 – 11 March 1954) was a British women's rights activist, suffragist and pacifist. Early life Pethick-Lawrence was born in 1867 in Clifton, Bristol as Emmeline Pethick. He ...

Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence, PC (né Lawrence; 28 December 1871 – 10 September 1961) was a British Labour politician who, among other things, campaigned for women's suffrage. Background and education B ...

Dorothy Pethick Dorothy Pethick (1881–1970) was a British suffragette and an organiser of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). She was force fed in prison and was awarded the Hunger Strike Medal. Early life Pethick was born in Bristol, Somerset ...

Mary Phillips (suffragette) Mary Elizabeth Phillips (15 July 1880 – 21 June 1969) was an English suffragette, feminist and socialist. She was the longest prison serving suffragette. She worked for Christabel Pankhurst but was sacked; she then worked for Sylvia Pankhurs ...

: wrote on her form "NO VOTE NO CENSUS. Posterity will know how to judge the Government if it persists in bringing about the falsification of national statistics instead of acting on its own principles and making itself truly representational of the people" *

Emily Phipps Emily Frost Phipps (7 November 1865 – 3 May 1943) was an English teacher and suffragette, a barrister in later life, and an influential figure in the National Union of Women Teachers. Early life The eldest of five siblings, Mary was born t ...

: stayed overnight in a sea cave on the

Gower Peninsula The Gower Peninsula (), or simply Gower (), is a peninsula in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, and is now within the City and County of Swansea. It projects towards th ...

Catherine Pine Catherine Emily Pine (7 May 1864 – 14 August 1941) was active in the women's suffrage movement in Britain. She nursed the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst and her son Henry. Pine travelled with Pankhurst before returning to Britain permanently ...

* Ellen Pitfield *

Aileen Preston Aileen Preston (1889–1974) was an Irish chauffeur and suffragette. She was the first woman in history to qualify for the '' Automobile Association'' Certificate in Driving. Early life and education Aileen Chevallier Preston was born in 1889 ...

Edith Rigby Edith Rigby ( Rayner) (18 October 1872 – 23 July 1950) was an English suffragette who used arson as a way to further the cause of women’s suffrage. She founded a night school in Preston called St Peter's School, aimed at educating women and ...

Elizabeth Robins Elizabeth Robins (August 6, 1862 – May 8, 1952) was an actress, playwright, novelist, and suffragette. She also wrote as C. E. Raimond. Early life Elizabeth Robins, the first child of Charles Robins and Hannah Crow, was born in Louisville, ...

Bertha Ryland Bertha Wilmot Ryland (12 October 1882 – April 1977) was a militant suffragette and member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) who after slashing a painting in Birmingham Art Gallery in 1914 went on hunger strike in HM Prison Bir ...

* Lavena Saltonstall * Alice Schofield *

Evelyn Sharp (suffragist) Evelyn Jane Nevinson (; 4 August 1869 – 17 June 1955), better known as Evelyn Sharp, was a pacifist and writer who was a key figure in two major British women's suffrage societies, the militant Women's Social and Political Union and the Unit ...

and other census resisters *

Isabel Giberne Sieveking Isabel Giberne Sieveking (c. 1857 – 30 March 1936) was a British suffragette, historian and writer. Early life Sieveking was born in 1857 in Epsom, Surrey, and was raised as a devout Catholic. She was the youngest of the four children born t ...

: the enumerator wrote on her return: "Husband had left the town when I called and the wife, who is a suffragette, refused to sign as correct" *

Sophia Duleep Singh Princess Sophia Alexandrovna Duleep Singh ( ; 8 August 1876 – 22 August 1948) was a prominent suffragette in the United Kingdom. Her father was Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, who had lost his Sikh Empire to the Punjab Province of British ...

Ethel Smyth Dame Ethel Mary Smyth (; 22 April 18588 May 1944) was an English composer and a member of the women's suffrage movement. Her compositions include songs, works for piano, chamber music, orchestral works, choral works and operas. Smyth tended ...

Jessie Stephenson Sara Jessie Stephenson (1873–1966) was a British suffragette and a member of the WSPU who organised census boycott in Manchester. Early life Sara Jessie Stephenson was born in Louth, Lincolnshire in 1873 the daughter of a farmer in Linco ...

: organised the census boycott in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Frances Swiney Rosa Frances Emily Swiney ( Biggs; 21 April 1847 – 3 May 1922) was an early British feminist, writer, and theosophist. Biography Rosa Frances Emily Biggs was born in Poona, India, but spent most of her childhood in Ireland. In 1871 she ...

* Violet Tillard: wrote on the household census form: “No Vote No Census. Should women become persons in the eye of the law this session - full information will be forwarded” *

Aethel Tollemache Aethel Tollemache (c. 1875–26 May 1955) was a British suffragette. Early life Tollemache was born in Rangoon, Burma in 1875. Her parents were Reverend Clement Reginald Tollemache and Frances Josephine Simpson. She was the great-granddaughte ...

Alice Vickery Alice Vickery (also known as A. Vickery Drysdale and A. Drysdale Vickery, ''c.'' 1844 – 12 January 1929) was an English physician, campaigner for women's rights, and the first British woman to qualify as a chemist and pharmacist. She and her ...

Jessey Wade Anna Jessey Wade (2 December 1859 – 10 May 1952) was an English suffragette and campaigner for animal welfare. She founded the Cats Protection League, now known as Cats Protection, and was involved with several other animal welfare organisati ...

Ethel Williams (physician) Ethel Mary Nucella Williams (8 July 1863 – 29 January 1948) was the first female doctor in Newcastle upon Tyne, a Suffrage, suffragist and Pacifism, pacifist. Early life and education Ethel Mary Nucella Williams was born on 8 July 1863 in ...

* Lilian Wolfe * Rose Lamartine Yates *

Israel Zangwill Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and became the ...

Notes

References

{{Authority control * Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

Census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...