Louisa Mary Knightley, Lady Knightley (''née'' Bowater; 25 April 1842 – 2 October 1913) was a British

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and women's rights activist.

Life

Born on

Lower Grosvenor Street Lower Grosvenor Street was a street in London, England, later renamed Grosvenor Street. It was at the south-eastern corner of Grosvenor Square, extending eastward towards Bond Street. Count de Melfort, in his ''Impressions of England'', describe ...

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 ...

, she was the daughter of General Edward Bowater and Emilia Mary Barne. She was educated at home and kept a diary from the age of fourteen. The family were close to the

British Royal Family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

, and Louisa was a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

at the marriage of

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (Leopold George Duncan Albert; 7 April 185328 March 1884) was the eighth child and youngest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Leopold was later created Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow. He ...

and

Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont (Helen Frederica Augusta; 17 February 1861 – 1 September 1922), later Duchess of Albany, was a member of the British royal family by marriage. She was the fifth daughter and child of George Victor, Princ ...

. In 1869, she married Rainald Knightley, a Conservative Party Member of Parliament twenty-three years her senior. Knightley devoted much of her time to the church, serving as a national vice-president and the Peterborough diocese president of the

Girls' Friendly Society The Girls' Friendly Society (GFS) is a charitable organisation that empowers girls and young women aged 5 to 25, encouraging them to develop their full potential through programs that provide training, confidence building, and other educational ...

. In 1877 she was one of the founding committee members of the Working Ladies' Guild created by

Lady Mary Feilding Lady Mary Frances Catherine Feilding (9 April 1823 – 24 April 1896) was an English aristocrat and founder of the Working Ladies' Guild. Life Feilding and her twin brother Rudolph were born in 1823 at Woodchester Park in Nympsfield, Gloucestersh ...

. She was also interest in politics, and when the Primrose League was established in 1883, she soon joined, and from 1885 until 1907, she served on its Ladies' Grand Council. In line with the organisation's aims, she was very active in mobilising women in support of the Conservative Party, and was credited with saving Rainald's seat in the

1885 Events January * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 17 – Mahdist ...

and 1886 general elections. The experience of involvement in an election campaign without being able to vote convinced her of the case for

women's suffrage 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 ...

. In about 1888, she was elected to the parish council of Badby, Northamptonshire, and later chaired the body. Probably due to Louisa's lobbying, Rainald was created Baron Knightley in 1892, Louisa therefore becoming Lady Knightley. Rainald died in 1895, and Louisa thereafter devoted more of her time to women's rights. She was a founder member of the

National Union of Women Workers The National Council of Women of Great Britain (NCWGB) exists to co-ordinate the voluntary efforts of women across Great Britain. Founded as the National Union of Women Workers, it said that it would "promote sympathy of thought and purpose amon ...

, serving as a vice-president from 1906, also serving on the committee of the Freedom of Labour Defence League, and as president of the Northamptonshire Society for Promoting the Return of Women as Poor Law Guardians. Knightley was also active in support of

imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...

, serving as president of the South African Colonisation Society, and editing the ''Imperial Colonist'' journal from 1901 to 1913. In her last years, she also served on the Northamptonshire Higher Education Committee, and from 1908 to 1910 was the founding president of the

Conservative and Unionist Women's Franchise Association The Conservative and Unionist Women's Franchise Association (CUWFA) was a British women's suffrage organisation open to members of the Conservative and Unionist Party. Formed in 1908 by members of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, ...

. Lady Knightley was appointed a Lady of Grace of the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

on 7 March 1900.

Primary source

The Journals of Lady Knightley of Fawsley
(full text via the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knightley, Louisa 1842 births 1913 deaths British baronesses by marriage Conservative Party (UK) councillors Councillors in Northamptonshire English suffragists Women councillors in England