Eglantyne Louisa Jebb ( Jebb; 1845/1846 - November 1925) was an Anglo-Irish social reformer. A keen supporter of the

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

, in 1884 she founded the Home Arts and Industries Association as a way of reviving country

crafts A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

and overcoming

rural poverty Rural poverty refers to situations where people living in rural area, non-urban regions are in a poverty, state or condition of lacking the financial resources and essentials for living. It takes account of factors of Rural sociology, rural so ...

Biography

Eglantyne Louisa Jebb was born in 1845 or 1846 in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

to Emily Harriet (née Horsley) and Robert Jebb. She had an elder brother, would become the

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

Sir

Richard Claverhouse Jebb Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb (27 August 1841 – 9 December 1905) was a British classical scholar and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP for Cambridge. Life Jebb was born in Dundee, Scotland, to Robert, a well-known Irish barrister, an ...

and younger twin siblings, Heneage Horsley Jebb and Robert Jebb. Her father was a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

of the Irish Bar and studied literature. His family included Sir

Joshua Jebb Sir Joshua Jebb, (8 May 1793 – 26 June 1863) was a British officer of the Royal Engineers who participated in the Battle of Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812, He became Surveyor-General of convict prisons. By 1850, Penton ...

, a prison reformer;

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Un ...

pioneer, John Jebb, Bishop of Limerick; and court physician, Sir Richard Jebb. Her mother was the daughter of the Dean of Brechin, Rev. Heneage Horsley. In 1850, the family moved to

Killiney Killiney () is an affluent coastal suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. It lies south of Dalkey, east and northeast of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill, in the local government area of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown within ...

, due to the delicate health of the twins. From an early age, she was called Tye and studied art and poetry. In 1871, she married her cousin Arthur Trevor Jebb (1839–1894), a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and landowner from

Ellesmere, Shropshire Ellesmere ( ) is a town in the civil parish of Ellesmere Urban, in Shropshire, England; it is located near to the Welsh border, the towns of Oswestry and Whitchurch, Shropshire, Whitchurch, and the Welsh city of Wrexham. It is notable for its ...

. The couple's first child, Emily was born in 1872 and the following year, Jebb gave birth to another daughter, Louisa, or "Lill". Their son, Richard, known as Dick, was born in 1874; followed by Eglantyne in 1876; Arthur in 1879; and

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series * Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Dorot ...

in 1881. In 1884, Jebb founded the Cottage Arts Association to create a network for craft education throughout England and assist in philanthropic efforts to overcome poverty in rural areas. She renamed the organization in 1885, as the Home Arts and Industries Association. The organization sponsored courses in craftwork, specifically woodworks and wearable items. The idea behind the programs was to provide education and training on art production to help people make a living, but also to build appreciation for the beauty of handicrafts. Jebb was able to secure patrons such as Earl Brownlow and his wife, Countess Adelaide; Katherine Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster; and Louisa Beresford, Marchioness of Waterford as patrons. They helped provide not only funding for the schools, but exhibition spaces for the goods to be shown to society figures. She ran the organization until 1887, when health concerns forced her to withdraw from active participation, though she did continue to organize free classes. After her husband's death in 1894, Jebb resided with her unmarried daughter and namesake, Eglantyne, in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. A further health issue caused them to move to the Swiss Riviera in 1910, travelling between health spas in Austria, Italy and Switzerland. During the war, Eglantyne agreed to collect, distribute, and monitor funds for the Macedonia Relief Fund. Jebb contributed £50 to the relief efforts, and supported her daughter's 1913 trip to the Balkan states.

Death and legacy

Jebb died on 6 November 1925 in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, England. Two of her daughters, Eglantyne and Dorothy, founded the Save the Children Fund, and Eglantyne Jebb also wrote the

Declaration of the Rights of the Child The Declaration of the Rights of the Child, sometimes known as the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, is an international document promoting child rights, drafted by Eglantyne Jebb and adopted by the League of Nations in 1924, and adop ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jebb, Eglantyne Louisa Activists from Dublin (city) 1840s births 1925 deaths Irish activists Irish women activists English activists English women activists