Lady Mabel Florence Harriet Wentworth-Fitzwilliam (14 July 1870 – 26 September 1951) was an English socialist politician, later known as Lady Mabel Smith.

Biography

Her father was William Wentworth Fitzwilliam, Viscount Milton, the eldest son of William Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 6th Earl FitzWilliam. Her father died before inheriting the Earldom and it passed to her brother, William Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 7th Earl FitzWilliam whose lifestyle she criticised; "he had so much and everyone else had so little".Bailey, C (2007). ''Black Diamonds: The Rise and Fall of an English Dynasty'', p399. London: Penguin. She married Lt. Col. William Mackenzie Smith on 29 July 1899 and went to live in Barnes Hall near Grenoside,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

.Bailey, C (2007). ''Black Diamonds: The Rise and Fall of an English Dynasty'', p400. London: Penguin. After her marriage she was known as Lady Mabel Smith. She was a local politician in south

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, firstly as a West Riding County Councillor and later as a county

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

and member of the Workers' Educational Authority.Bailey, C (2007). ''Black Diamonds: The Rise and Fall of an English Dynasty'', p401. London: Penguin. In 1918 she visited

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

as Inspector of Yorkshire's Women's Agricultural Auxiliary Corps. She served on the Departmental Committee on Public Libraries which was appointed by the then President of the Board of Education Charles Trevelyan in 1924, reporting in June, 1927 and was appointed a member of the Adult Education Committee set up by the then President of the Board of Education Eustace Percy in 1927 She served on the Labour Party National Executive Committee in 1932. and 1934 She assisted greatly in the establishment of Ecclesfield Grammar School in the early 1930s, and after its great expansion in the early 1950s its new Assembly Hall, opened in 1953, was named Lady Mabel Hall. She was a committed

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

. She stated that her social conscience developed after seeing the conditions of children who lived on the Wentworth estate. Lady Mabel's niece, Joyce Smith, described her as a "rabid socialist" whose name was "absolutely taboo" at Wentworth Woodhouse. In 1910 she contributed £1.1s. to the £100,000 Fund of the

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom founded in 1903. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and p ...

, according to its organ,

Votes for Women Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

. From 1949 to 1974, Wentworth Woodhouse was changed into a College of

Physical Education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

, for this period the college was named after Lady Mabel, as she had brokered the deal for its establishment, allowing the family to maintain private apartments. The college trained female physical education teachers. The college later merged with Sheffield City Polytechnic and the name Wentworth Woodhouse was restored.Solarnavigator.net
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzwilliam, Mabel 1870 births 1951 deaths English socialists Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) officials Daughters of British earls Members of West Riding County Council Women councillors in England