Ella Sykes or Ella Constance Sykes (11 November 1863 – 23 March 1939) was a traveller and writer from the

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 ...

Life

Sykes was born in

Stoke Stoke may refer to: Places Canada * Stoke, Quebec New Zealand * Stoke, New Zealand United Kingdom Berkshire * Stoke Row Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stoke Gifford * Bradley Stoke * Little Stoke * Harry Stoke * Stoke Lodge Bucking ...

near Plymouth in 1863. Her parents were Army chaplain Rev. William Sykes (born 1829)Two Hundred Years of the S.P.G.: An Historical Account of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1701-1900, Based on a Digest of the Society's Records, vol. I, Charles Frederick Pascoe, 1901, p. 929 and his wife Mary, daughter of Captain Anthony Oliver Molesworth, of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, descended from

Robert Molesworth Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth (7 September 1656 – 22 May 1725) was an Anglo-Irish politician and writer. Molesworth came from an old Northamptonshire family. He married Hon. Letitia Coote, daughter of Richard Coote, 1st Baron ...

, 1st

Viscount Molesworth Viscount Molesworth, of Swords in the County of Dublin, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1716 for Robert Molesworth. He was made Lord Molesworth, Baron of Philipstown, of King's County, at the same time, also in the Peerage ...

. Her father was honorary chaplain to Queen Victoria. Her sister Ethel Sykes was also a writer, and their only brother

Percy Sykes Brigadier-General Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes, (28 February 1867 – 11 June 1945) was a British soldier, diplomat, and scholar with a considerable literary output. He wrote historical, geographical, and biographical works, as well as describin ...

became a brigadier, diplomat and writer. Her father William was the second son of Richard Sykes, of Edgeley House,

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

, owner of the

Sykes Bleaching Company The Sykes Bleaching Company was a cotton bleaching business established in Edgeley, near Stockport in 1792 which grew to become one of the largest bleaching enterprises in the United Kingdom. Origins The bleaching business was established in 1792 ...

; Percy Sykes was thus the nephew of Richard Sykes, the

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

player who founded towns in America, and cousin of

Sir Alan Sykes, 1st Baronet Sir Alan John Sykes, 1st Baronet (11 April 1868 – 21 May 1950) was an English businessman in the bleaching industry and Conservative politician in Cheshire. Biography Sykes was born at Cringle House Cheadle, the second son of Thomas Hardcas ...

who was MP for

Knutsford Knutsford () is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East district, in Cheshire, England; it is located south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and south-east of Warrington. The population of the parish at the 2021 Uni ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

. She was educated at Plymouth High School and then the boarding school Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army in Bath. She then joined the recently opened Oxford college for women

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formally known under ...

in 1881 and left in 1883. Her sister, who had a nearly identical education, left in 1884. She had enough money that she did not need to work. In 1894 her brother Percy was tasked with establishing consulates in

Kerman Kerman (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kerman County), Central District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Kerman province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. History Kerman was founded as a def ...

and

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of de ...

and he invited her to come along. They spent two years travelling. When she returned she used her experiences to write ''Through Persia on a Side-Saddle'', which was published in 1898. left, Two men on yaks - an illustration from her and her brother's book ''Through Deserts and Oases of Central Asia'' She also took photographs whilst on the journey, and an album of photographs was published but these were all taken by her brother. In 1915 she set off again to accompany her brother. He had been asked to become the temporary consul replacing Sir George Macartney in

Kashgar Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...

whilst he and Catherine Macartney took a vacation. They had to journey to

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

and then proceed by pony over passes 12,000 feet above sea level to find Kashgar in Turkestan. The journey took them over a month. Whilst they were there they travelled further in some places this was exploration. She was the first British woman to pass through the "Katta Dawan" pass that was 13,000 feet high. Their journey home also took a month and these journeys were recorded in photographs. In 1920 she and her brother Percy published ''Through Deserts and Oases of Central Asia''. Sykes died in her home in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, Ella 1863 births 1939 deaths Writers from Plymouth, Devon British women photographers Photographers from Plymouth, Devon Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford