Mary Gawthorpe
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Mary Eleanor Gawthorpe (12 January 1881 – 12 March 1973) was an English
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 ...
,
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
,
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
ist and
editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...
. She was described by
Rebecca West Dame Cecily Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983), known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books ...
as "a merry militant saint".


Life

Gawthorpe was born in Woodhouse, Leeds to John Gawthorpe, a leatherworker, and Annie Eliza (Mountain) Gawthorpe. Her mother, Annie, at a very young age worked at a mill until her older sister offered her a position as an assistant. Mary Gawthorpe had four siblings; a baby and eldest sister died within a year of each other due to pneumonia when Mary was seven, and the other two, Annie Gatenby and James Arthur, survived to adulthood. After qualifying as a
teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...
in her native
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
, teaching at Hough Lane School in Bramley, Gawthorpe became a socialist and was active in the local branch of the
National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...
. She joined 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 ...
and in 1906, became secretary of the newly formed
Women's Labour League The Women's Labour League (WLL) was a pressure organisation, founded in London in 1906, to promote the political representation of women in parliament and local bodies. The idea was first suggested by Mary Macpherson, a linguist and journalist wh ...
. She became involved in the
women's suffrage movement 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 ...
and, in 1905, joined the
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 ...
. In 1906, she left teaching to become a full-time, paid organiser for the WSPU in Leeds.
Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (; 5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was an English Feminism, feminist and Socialism, socialist activist and writer. Following encounters with women-led labour activism in the United States, she worked to organise worki ...
came to
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
in 1907 and joined
Alice Hawkins Alice Hawkins (Stafford, 1863 – Leicester, 1946) was a leading English suffragette among the boot and shoe machinists of Leicester. She went to prison five times for acts committed as part of the Women’s Social and Political Union militant c ...
who made introductions. They were joined by Gawthorpe and they established a WSPU presence in Leicester. Gawthorpe was an active member of Leeds Arts Club, having been introduced to the club by her journalist boyfriend. She had a close friendship with Alfred Orage who was a fellow primary school teacher in Leeds. In her autobiography, Gawthorpe describes the quiet reading space and group meetings of the club, which shared premises with the
Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...
and the Theosophic Society. Members often crossed over, and Gawthorpe describes how she came across at the club
Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...
's writing as well as theosophical ideas on truth and equality. The Club encouraged women to participate in debates, described by Gawthorpe as bringing 'a new art reality into consciousness'. She later joined
Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed Suffragette bombing and arson ca ...
in Wales, where she drew upon her working-class background and involvement in the labour movement. At the meeting in Wales, organised by Samuel Evans, who was standing for reelection to Parliament, Gawthorpe, in perfect Welsh, worried Evans by putting questions to him in his own language at his own meetings. The chairman at the meeting started the Welsh National Anthem, but Gawthorpe turned this to her advantage by leading the singing in her rich voice which "won the hearts of the people still more". In 1907, Gawthorpe campaigned in the Rutland by-election campaign. She organised an open-air meeting in
Uppingham Uppingham is a market town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Rutland, England, off the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, south of Oakham. It had a population of 4,745 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 4,853 in 2019. ...
and while standing on a wagon accompanied by several other women, a crowd of "noisy youths began to throw up peppermint ' bull's eyes' and other hard-boiled sweets". Undeterred by the rowdy children, due in part to her time as a schoolteacher, she retorted, "Sweets to the sweet", with a smile on her face and continued her argument until a pot-egg thrown from the crowd hit her on the head and she fell unconscious. She was carried away but returned the next day, like a "true Suffragette", undaunted. Sylvia Pankhurst wrote that the "incident and her plucky spirit, made her the heroine of the Election". Gawthorpe also campaigned with Jessie Stephenson and
Nellie Martel Ellen Alma Martel, (; 30 September 1855 – 11 August 1940) was an English-Australian Women's suffrage, suffragist and elocutionist. She stood for the Australian Senate, Senate at the 1903 Australian federal election, 1903 federal election, ...
in the 1907 Jarrow by-election. She spoke to different audiences, such as a group of over 200 farmers, on 17 April 1908, in
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
's Exchange Street and at other events in that area, including being
heckled A heckler is a person who harasses and tries to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes. Hecklers are often known to shout discouraging comments at a performance or event, or to interrupt set-piece speeches, with the intent of d ...
at a temperance meeting at
Stonehaven Stonehaven ( ) is a town on the northeast coast of Scotland, south of Aberdeen. It had a population of 11,177 at th2022 Census Stonehaven was formerly the county town of Kincardineshire, succeeding the now abandoned town of Kincardine, Aberd ...
, for suffragists supporting barmaids but she declared she was also a temperance reformer. Gawthorpe spoke at national events, including a rally in Hyde Park in 1908 attended by over 200,000 people. As well as being imprisoned on several occasions for her political activities, Gawthorpe was also badly beaten, suffering serious internal injuries after heckling
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, ...
in 1909. In October 1906, she was arrested following a demonstration at the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
because she refused to be
bound over In the law of England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions, binding over is an exercise of certain powers by the criminal courts used to deal with low-level public order issues. Both magistrates' courts and the Crown Court may issue ...
to keep the peace and was sentenced to two months' imprisonment. After being released from prison, Gawthorpe was arrested for another House of Commons demonstration in February 1907 and was "badly knocked about and could not appear at court". The case was dismissed the following month. Several months later, in November 1907, she was arrested, this time with Dora Marsden and Rona Robinson at Manchester University, due to asking Lord Morley about the imprisoned women at Birmingham. The three women were ejected from Lord Morley's meeting and were violently arrested by the police. In January 1910 on polling day in Southport, Gawthorpe together with fellow suffragettes Dora Marsden and Mabel Capper, were the subject of a violent assault while demonstrating at the polling booths. In February, the three suffragettes brought charges against three men for assault. The charges were dismissed by the magistrates. Outside the court, police intervened in hostilities that arose between supporters of the defendants and those of the three appellants. In February 1912 Gawthorpe broke a window at the Home Office in protest at the imprisonment and brutal treatment of suffragist William Ball. She demanded to be imprisoned, however the magistrate discharged her on medical grounds. With Dora Marsden, Gawthorpe was co-editor of the radical periodical '' The Freewoman: A Weekly Feminist Review'', which discussed topics such as women's wage work, housework, motherhood, suffrage movement and literature. Its notoriety and influence rested on its frank discussions on sexuality, morality and marriage, and urged tolerance for male homosexuality. Due to poor health and disagreements with Marsden, Gawthorpe resigned from her duties as co-editor; her final publication was dated 7 March 1912. Gawthorpe emigrated to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1916. She was active in the American suffrage movement and later in the
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
movement, becoming an official of the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Indus ...
union. She chronicled her early efforts in her autobiography, ''Up Hill to Holloway'' (1962).


Posthumous recognition

Her name and picture (and those of 58 other women's suffrage supporters) are on the
plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in
Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and ...
, London, unveiled in 2018. In May 2025, local artist David Griffin painted a large mural of Mary Gawthorpe on a terrace gable end in Bramley.


See also

*
List of suffragists and suffragettes This list of suffragists and suffragettes includes noted individuals active in the worldwide women's suffrage movement who have campaigned or strongly advocated for women's suffrage, the organisations which they formed or joined, and the publi ...


References


External links


Photograph of Mary Gawthorpe from the Spartacus Educational websiteMary E. Gawthorpe Papers
at Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at New York University {{DEFAULTSORT:Gawthorpe, Mary English suffragists Trade unionists from Leeds English magazine editors 1881 births 1973 deaths English women trade unionists English women magazine editors English emigrants to the United States Leeds Blue Plaques