Eveline Mary Lowe (29 November 1869 – 30 May 1956) was a British politician. Born in

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

as Eveline Farren, she attended Milton Mount College and then

Homerton College Homerton College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Its first premises were acquired in Homerton, London in 1768, by an informal gathering of English Dissenters, Protestant dissente ...

, where she qualified as a teacher. She then began teaching at the college, becoming its vice-principal in 1894 and relocating with the institution to

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 ...

. In 1903, she married George Carter Lowe, and left teaching. The two moved to

Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...

, where George joined the medical practice run by

Alfred Salter Alfred Salter (16 June 1873 – 24 August 1945) was a British medical practitioner and Labour Party politician. Early life Salter was born in Greenwich in 1873, the son of Walter Hookway Salter and Elizabeth Tester. Following education at ...

. Along with Alfred and

Ada Salter Ada Salter (''née'' Brown; 20 July 1866 – 4 December 1942) was an English social reformer, environmentalist, pacifist and Quakers, Quaker, President of the Women's Labour League and President of the National Gardens Guild. She was one of the ...

, Lowe founded a Bermondsey branch of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

(ILP), and she was soon elected to the local

Board of Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the po ...

.Lowe [née Farren], Eveline Mary
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' George died in 1919, and Lowe decided to devote her life to political activity. She was co-opted to the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

education committee, and in 1922 she was elected to the council, representing Bermondsey West. She served as deputy chair of the council in 1929/30.Lowe, Mrs Eveline M.
, ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

'' Lowe remained a member of the ILP, but she resigned in 1932 as she did not support its disaffiliation from the Labour Party. From 1934 to 1937, she chaired the council's education committee, then chaired its establishment committee until 1939. She then served for a year as chair of the council, the first woman to hold the post. She retired in 1946, and was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree by the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1950.

References

1869 births 1956 deaths Alumni of Homerton College, Cambridge Fellows of Homerton College, Cambridge Independent Labour Party politicians Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of London County Council People from Rotherhithe Women councillors in England {{UK-politician-stub