Laura Ormiston Chant née Dibbin (9 October 1848 – 16 February 1923,

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

) was an English social reformer, women's rights activist, and writer.

Life

Chant was born on 9 October 1848, in

Woolaston Woolaston is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire in South West England. It lies on the north side of the Severn Estuary approximately from the Welsh border at Chepstow and is surrounded by woodland and ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, the daughter of Francis William Dibbin (1811–1874), a civil engineer and Sophia Ormiston (1815–1894), who managed a girls institution.ORMISTON, T.L., ''The Ormistons of Teviotdale'' (1950), p.70, gives her father's name as ''Dibbin''. So does her ''Times'' obituary, 17 February 1923 In 1871, she was a governess and eventually went on to pursue a career in nursing. Her father did not approve of this profession and disowned her. She worked as a nursing sister in the Sophia Wards in the

London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and London Borough of Tow ...

. At work she met and later married Thomas Chant, M.R.C.S., L.S.A., of

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

on 13 September 1877 in Capel, Surrey, England. They had Thomas, Emmeline, Olive and Ethel Chant. Laura Chant wrote and lectured on social purity, temperance, and women's rights. Her contemporaries called her " a helper of many.""The Empire – The Decline and Fall," ''The Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality'', Volume 8 page 8, (31 Oct 1894), accessed 10 November 2020. Her published works include pamphlets, hymns, a novel and a book of poetry and are described as reflecting "many of the tensions characterizing feminism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries". One of her most famous reform efforts was her protesting of music-halls as temptations to vice in 1894.'Death of Mrs. Ormiston Chant: A notable social worker', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 17 February 1923, p. 12 Chant died in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, 16 February 1923 from cerebral hemorrhage and heart failure.

Career

Nursing

Nursing was Laura Chant's first major career. She worked in the London Hospital but was dismissed when she married Thomas Chant as it was against their rules. She was also an assistant manager of a private lunatic asylum. On 8 April 1897 Chant and six other English nurses went to Crete to give aid and supplies during the Greco-Turkish War. She received the "Red Cross of Greece" from the royal family of Greece because of these efforts.Philippa Levine, "Chant ee Dibbin Laura Ormiston," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, revised 29 May 2014, Accessed 10 October 2020. She went to Bulgaria to give aid to Armenian refugees from the 1894–1896

Hamidian massacres The Hamidian massacres also called the Armenian massacres, were massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1890s. Estimated casualties ranged from 100,000 to 300,000, Akçam, Taner (2006) '' A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide a ...

Social reform

The Empire Theatre

One of the most prominent causes Chant was involved in was her protest of the

Empire Theatre of Varieties The Empire, Leicester Square is a cinema currently operated by Cineworld on the north side of Leicester Square, London, England. The Empire was originally built in 1884 as a variety theatre and was rebuilt for films in the 1920s. It is one of s ...

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised town square, square in the West End of London, England, and is the centre of London's entertainment district. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leice ...

.Joseph W Donohue, "Fantasies of Empire: The Empire Theatre of Varieties and the licensing controversy of 1894," (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2005). Chant shared in her pamphlet ''Why We Attacked the Empire'' that she was astonished by the immorality taking place in this theatre during their performances. She went to visit the theatre and observed many women who came to the promenade (an open space for people to walk around by still view the performance) to prostitute. She also believed that the clothing and the themes in these performances were immoral. Chant attended the 10 October 1894 licensing meeting of 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 ...

for the renewal of the Empire Theatre and explained the immorality occurring in the theatre. She gave a long speech detailing her grievances before the final decision by the committee was made. The license was renewed on 26 October 1894 but only if the promenade in the theatre would be taken away and that no intoxicating drinks would be sold in the auditorium. Screens were placed around the promenade in the theatre but were eventually pulled down by protestors, who included the young

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. They thought the restrictions were too hard on legitimate socialising. Chant was made fun of in the popular music hall ballad "Her Golden Hair Was Hanging Down Her Back". Her work to reform the theatre was a catalyst to future discussions on the injustices in the music halls. Chant's reform efforts are considered one of the major factors that preceded the

Music Hall Strike of 1907 The Music Hall Strike of 1907 was a theatrical dispute which took place between music hall employees, stage artistes and London theatre proprietors. The catalyst for the strikes were the employees' lack of pay, the scrapping of perks, and an inc ...

in London. During this strike, theatre workers protested the lack of pay to match the time demands of increasing working hours. Laura Ormiston Chant

Organisations

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating women's rights, human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C ...

(1888) Chant traveled to the United States to represent England in this women's rights council. During the convention, Susan B. Anthony said in her opening remarks to the council that she admired Chant's poem in ''Verona and Other Poems'' titled "England to America." * Social Purity Alliance * Founding member of the

National Vigilance Association The National Vigilance Association (NVA) was a British society established in 1885. Its goal was to combat prostitution, particularly forced prostitution by children. It has been described as the main social purity organization in the United Kingdom ...

which focused enforcement of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 which outlawed brothels and

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

. She was the editor of the journal ''The Vigilance Record'' which was published by the NVA. * Vice-president of the

Peace Society The Peace Society, International Peace Society or London Peace Society, originally known as the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace, was a British pacifist organisation that was active from 1816 until the 1930s. History Fo ...

* Chant was a founding member of the Women Guardians Society. * Ladies National Association *

Women's Liberal Federation The Women's Liberal Federation was an organisation that was part of the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom. History The Women's Liberal Federation (WLF) was formed on the initiative of Sophia Fry, who in 1886 called a meeting at her house of f ...

British Women's Temperance Association The White Ribbon Association (WRA), previously known as the British Women's Temperance Association (BWTA), is an organization that seeks to educate the public about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, as well as gambling. Founding of British Wom ...

Public speaker and author

Chant traveled around 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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and The

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

and many other countries to give speeches about temperance and other moral causes. She was known for making her audience laugh or be brought tears with her moving words about the various topics she spoke about. She spoke about temperance to the Unitarian Church Temperance Society in

Boston, United States Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

on 30 May 1890 in a speech titled "How I Became a Total Abstainer." She spoke about how alcohol poisons the brain and "as humanity advances in culture and development, the need of brain-power is greater." Chant was also known for her speeches as a

nondenominational Christian Non-denominational Christianity (or nondenominational Christianity) consists of churches, and individual Christians, which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligni ...

preacher. In 1893 Chant addressed the 1893

Parliament of the World's Religions There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World's Religions, the first being the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another c ...

, held in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in conjunction with the

Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ce ...

. Her speech was titled, "The Real Religion of Today." In this sermon she shared the importance of appreciating and respecting the many religions that were created to worship God. She also wrote the words and music for ''Action Songs for Children'' and several more volumes of music in the same vein, consisting of simple ditties embodying physical exercises for small children.

Selected works

* ''Verona and Other Poems'' (1877) * ''Why We Attacked the Empire'' (1894) * ''Women and the Streets'' * ''Sellcuts' Manager'' (1899)Mrs. Ormiston Chant, ''Sellcuts' Manager'' (London: Grant Richards, 1899).

References

Churchill, Winston S., My Early Life, 65-66, discussing Ms. Chant's campaign to close the Empire Theatre in London

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chant, Laura Ormiston 1848 births 1923 deaths British nurses English social reformers English women's rights activists English feminists English social justice activists 19th-century English women writers 19th-century English writers