Sophia Fry later Lady Fry (11 June 1837 – 30 March 1897) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

political activist, notable for founding the

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 ...

Life

Born in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

as Sophia Pease, she was brought up as a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

and as an activist in liberal politics. Her parents were John Pease who was a Quaker and a director of the

Stockton and Darlington Railway The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mining, collieries near with ...

and Sophia Pease who was also a Quaker. She and her sister Mary Anna were educated at home, and for one year at a school in

Frenchay Frenchay is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. It is part of the Bristol Built-up Area, located north-east of Bristol city centre. Frenchay was designated as a conservation area in 1975 in recognition of its unique architectural an ...

, where she met Sarah Sturge and

Theodore Fry Sir Theodore Fry, 1st Baronet (1 May 1836 – 5 February 1912) was an English businessman and Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1895. Life He was the son of Francis Fry, of Bristol, and his wife Matilda Pe ...

. She developed an interest in education for the working class, and started running weekly training for

pupil-teacher Pupil teacher was a training program in wide use before the twentieth century, as an apprentice system for teachers. With the emergence in the beginning of the nineteenth century of education for the masses, demand for teachers increased. By 1840, ...

s, and ran cookery classes. Sophia married Fry in 1862, the couple settling in Darlington, and had eight children. Sophia was a founder of the Girls' Friends Day School in Bristol and was active in the North of England College, run by the

British and Foreign School Society The British and Foreign School Society (BFSS) was founded in the early 19th century to support free and non-denominational British Schools in England and Wales. These schools competed with the National schools run by the National Society for Promo ...

. At the 1880 UK general election, Theodore was elected as the Member of Parliament for

and, inspired by this and by

William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he was Prime Minister ...

's Midlothian Campaign, Sophia formed a Women's Liberal Association in the town in 1881. While there was not yet consensus that women should play a role in politics, Fry was determined that women should campaign for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. She corresponded with members of various women's liberal associations around the country, and in 1886 invited fifteen of them to her house to discuss forming a national federation. This was agreed, and the

(WLF) was established in London in 1887, Fry becoming its honorary secretary. It grew rapidly, and had 75,000 members within five years. In 1892, the WLF split over whether to support

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 ...

. While Fry was personally in favour, she felt it was a divisive issue and should not become the policy of the group. As a result, when the policy was voted in, she left to become a founder of the rival Women's National Liberal Association, serving as its vice-president. Theodore was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1894, so Sophia became Lady Fry. In 1896, the couple holidayed in Italy, but she suffered a severe accident, and died in March 1897 in

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fry, Sophia 1837 births 1897 deaths English Quakers Liberal Party (UK) politicians Sophia People from Darlington Wives of baronets