Mary Elaine Sykes (24 August 1896 – 25 February 1981) was a British solicitor, politician and magistrate. She was one of the first women

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

s in England and Wales. She read English at

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a member institution of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departmen ...

(1914–1917) and law at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

(1918–1919). She obtained a BA and LL.B both from 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 ...

.University of London, University Archives (UoL/UP/2/8/2: The Historical Record, 1836–1926) Having been

articled Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulate ...

to her father, a partner in his own firm of solicitors in Huddersfield (Armitage, Sykes and Hinchcliffe), in November 1922, along with Mary Pickup,

Carrie Morrison Carol Morrison (3 February 1888 – 20 February 1950) was the first woman to be admitted as a solicitor in England. Biography Morrison was born in Richmond, Surrey to father Thomas Morrison (1834–1901), son of a Scottish innkeeper who worked ...

, and Maud Crofts, she was one of the first women to sit the Law Society’s Final Examination, the first time the examination was opened to women following the passing of the

Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexual reproduction, sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an o ...

. Morrison was the first of them to finish her articles, and was the first woman admitted to the role of solicitor. Sykes was admitted as a solicitor in 1923. She worked for her father’s firm until 1930, when she set up her own firm, Mary E Sykes & Co. She remained in practice as a solicitor until 1968. In 1980 Mary E Sykes & Co merged with Ramsdens Solicitors. Sykes was elected president of the Huddersfield Law Society in 1951 and in 1955 was appointed as a magistrate. In 1935 she was elected as a Labour councillor on the Huddersfield Borough Council. In 1938 she became Huddersfield’s first woman

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 in 1945 she became the first woman to be elected as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Huddersfield. She was a member of the Labour Party and served as President of the Huddersfield Labour Party. She was a founder member of the Huddersfield branch of the

British Federation of Women Graduates The British Federation of Women Graduates (BFWG) was founded in 1907 as the British Federation of University Women (BFUW) to "afford a means of communication and of united action in matters affecting the interest of women". It was renamed the Brit ...

, and a member of the Women’s Luncheon Club, the

Business and Professional Women’s Club Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessaril ...

, and the Huddersfield

Soroptimist Soroptimist International (SI) , founded in 1921, is a global volunteer service for women with almost 66,000 members in 118 countries worldwide. Soroptimist International also offers Associate Membership and E-Clubs. Soroptimist International h ...

Club. She was friends with the renowned naturalist

Phyllis Kelway Phyllis or Phillis is a feminine given name of Greek language, Greek origin meaning ''foliage''. Phyllis (mythology), Phyllis is a minor figure in Greek mythology who killed herself in despair when Demophon of Athens did not return to her and ...

. She married Richard Harry Browne in 1953.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, Mary 1896 births 1981 deaths English solicitors 20th-century English lawyers Alumni of the University of Leeds