Rhoda Garrett (28 March 1841 – 22 November 1882) was an English

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

and

interior designer Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

Early life and education

Rhoda Garrett was born on 28 March 1841 in

Elton, Derbyshire Elton is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, and lies within the Peak District. Its nearest towns are Bakewell and Matlock. Elton is on a hillside overlooking a rock formation known as Robin Hoo ...

, on 28 March 1841 to Elizabeth Henry Pillcock and Revd John Fisher Garrett. Her mother died when Garrett was young and her father remarried. His second wife was considered to have "practically turned her predecessor's children out of the house to fend for themselves". Garrett supported herself and her younger brothers and sisters, struggling against poverty and poor health. Rhoda's younger half-sister was Amy Garrett Badley, and her half-brother was Fydell Edmund Garrett. Her second cousins included the sisters and suffrage campaigners

Millicent Fawcett Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (; 11 June 1847 – 5 August 1929) was an English political activist and writer. She campaigned for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, women's suffrage by Law reform, legal change and in 1897–1919 led Brita ...

and Agnes Garrett and

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (9 June 1836 – 17 December 1917) was an English physician and suffragist. She is known for being the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon and as a co-founder and dean of the London School o ...

the first British woman to qualify as a doctor.

Career

In 1867, Garrett moved to London hoping to train as an architect but it took some time to find anyone willing to offer such an opportunity to women. Garrett and her cousin

Agnes Garrett Agnes Garrett (12 July 1845 – 1935)Serena Kelly"Garrett, Agnes (1845–1935)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 9 January 2015. was an English suffragist and interior designer and the founder ...

were eventually apprenticed as clerks for eighteen months to London architect John McKean Brydon in 1871. He would later design Elizabeth Garrett Anderson women's hospital on

Euston Road Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to Kings Cross, London, King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston ...

, London. Rhoda and Agnes Garrett opened the first interior design company in Britain to be run by women. R & A Garrett opened in mid 1874, in a flat behind Baker Street station, moving to 2 Gower Street in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

mid 1875. Together the cousins wrote and published ''Suggestions for House Decoration'' in 1876, part of the 'Art at Home' series of interior decoration and household taste manuals published by Macmillan under the general editorship of W. J. Loftie. It was illustrated with engravings of furniture and rooms, probably of their own home at Gower Street, which was also their business premises. Examples of furniture designed by the Garretts are at Standen House, including a daybed and footstools, with characteristic wedge-shaped legs. Some of these items of furniture are illustrated in ''Suggestions for House Decoration''. R & A Garrett also decorated the home of

, Rhoda's cousin, at 4 Upper Berkeley Street in the fashionable

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...

, to which she and her husband Skelton had moved in June 1874.

Early death

Rhoda Garrett died aged only 41 from

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

and

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

on 22 November 1882 at her home 2 Gower Street, London which she and her cousin Agnes had shared. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson signed her death certificate. She is buried in the churchyard at

Rustington Rustington is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex. Rustington is approximately at the midpoint of the West Sussex coast and midway between Chichester and Brighton. The A259 runs along the north of Rustington, west ...

where the cousins had a home.

References

External links

* 1841 births 1882 deaths English suffragists English interior designers People from Derbyshire {{England-artist-stub People from Rustington