UPDATED BY CHARLOTTE OCTOBER 2023
We have mentioned the "no tax without presentation" protests of Mary Sargant Florence of Lord's Wood, Marlow Common and Edith Hayes of Bovingdon Green and Bourne End in our previous Groundbreaking Women of Marlow History post which you can read here. This entry gives a background to some of their work in Marlow - and that of their opponents.
While campaigning for election as M.P for Great Marlow in 1852 (ultimately unsuccessful) candidate Mr Bell pledged to act to give women the vote and got loud cheers from women and men as a result at the hustings. So support for universal suffrage is older in Marlow and the country as a whole than you might think. Bell of course was campaigning on many other points too.
The first specific public meeting in Marlow dedicated solely to supporting women's suffrage that we have so far found record of was held in 1872. The National League of Woman's Suffrage* was behind this meeting, as well as others in neighbouring towns such as High Wycombe and Maidenhead the year before. This group does not seem to have had as much success with regular meetings in Marlow compared to their activities in these neighbouring places. The meetings took the form of lectures and/or debates, with guest speakers, often from London. Attendance is usually said to be modest, or growing. In 1873 a Miss Beedy gave a lecture in Marlow in support of a proposed bill to remove the "electoral disabilities of women".
Bring your bells and whistles!
Things were rather quiet as regards public acts in support of women's suffrage in the next two decades within Marlow. But in the Edwardian era, the cause was invigorated by the determined Sargant Florence mentioned above. In 1908 the Public Hall (now the Masonic centre) in St Peter's Street saw a meeting of the Women's Freedom League to debate the issue of women paying tax when they had no say at the ballot box about how that tax should be spent. The meeting was presided over by a London member, Mrs Holmes. This meeting had been well advertised in advance and so those opposed to votes for women, or general troublemakers came armed for action. As soon as the meeting open, a crowd of young men came in and stood at the back of the room. From there, they did their utmost to disrupt proceedings and drown out all speakers. They blasted tin whistles, rang hand bells and sang a raucous version of the National Anthem whenever one of the women on the stage attempted to speak. In the end the meeting was abandoned before most of the women had been on the stage. Some went to an ante room to attempt some kind of plan on their tax protests, but the youths followed and forced their way into the room. No one was thankfully hurt. If the mob thought they'd silence the women for good, they were however wrong. Perhaps it is not surprising that several subsequent meetings of the Freedom League were held in the quieter surroundings of Lord's Wood. The ladies would however soon be back in the town centre.
The following year the group met there to discuss what to do about the forthcoming Kings Speech. Some hoped it would include a mention of voting rights for women, but should it not, the League was going to protest on the spot. Meredith MacDonald volunteered to be the Marlow groups representative in London. There would first be a deputation to ask for the voting issue to be included in the Speech, where Meredith would also represent our group. During their debate, a visiting woman from Australia expressed the view that politics had become more responsible and political debates more calm since the vote had been extended there.
How many less well off Marlow women attended the meeting we do not know. It was held in the afternoon when many were at work. Reports about meetings tend to focus on those in organisational roles or giving speeches, who tended to be better off. But the issues of course affected all.
Suffragists in Market Square
The ladies (and their male supporters) decided to have a large scale open air meeting in the Market Square in 1910. The crowd was said to be considerable although the caveat was added that many were curious children. Although some mention is made of cat calls and the like, the event seems to have been more more peaceful than previous ones. Mrs Sargant Florence presided over many of the meetings around this time. It may have been hard to hire some premises due to the fear by the owners that damaging trouble would follow. Another venue used by the women was the now demolished "Duchess Studio" in Victoria Road, which housed a girls club supported by many of the women attending.
Hands off my property
In 1911 & 1912, Mary Sargant Florence and Edith Hayes had both decided to stop paying their taxes in protest at their lack of voting rights. Their jewellery was seized in lieu, and auctioned off in the High Street by Mr Kendall. The women were prepared to let everyone know their sacrifice so marched through the town, banners aloft, and alerting all as to the turn of events. The secretary of the Tax Resistance League, Mrs Stanley Edwards, joined the ladies - Sargant Florence was a founder member of this movement. Also in attendance were many supporters from far and wide - including London. One member of the Tax Resistance League gave a speech in which she stated that it was "the duty of women taxpayers in this country to refuse payment of all imperial taxes until such times as they are allowed through their elected representatives in parliament to express their opinions as to the way in which these large sums should be spent." During the sale, Mr Kendall might well have felt a little intimidated. He was at pains to stress he was just doing his job. Most if not all of the seized items were bought by supporters of one of the Leagues or the other and proudly and publicly returned to their owners. Auction over, the women took the chance to hold a protest meeting against the seizure and sale. In 1914 the two again had property seized in lieu of unpaid tax, and the unfortunate George Kendall was again responsible for selling it off. A dog cart, silver kissing cup and candlesticks were the purloined articles this time around.
National League For Opposing Women's Suffrage
This group lived up to its name and was also active in Marlow, if for a shorter period. They were for various reasons against any extension of the vote to women. The first Marlow based meeting of the group seems to be that that occured in January 1913, in the town hall. Marlow set up their own branch in March 1913. It was held in the home of Mr W C Lyndell (Cedar House as it is now known) and his wife was the honorary secretary. Alfred Davis was the honorary treasurer - a figure better known for giving his name to the Marlow Football club ground in honour of his work in the sporting sphere. Other committee members included "Miss Wethered", Lady Frances Higginson, Mrs Bath, Mrs Hawton, Mrs Fell, Mrs Thomas, and Miss Hewett. The group first meeting ended with the successfully passed resolution to ask their local MPs to vote against women's suffrage. (Some of whom were at the meeting.) It seems our local groups activities were curtailed by the First World War and I can't find much evidence that the initial enthusiasm saw many more meetings.
We know which side won, although if you were not over 30 or a homeowner, the vote was still denied to you in 1918 while it was granted to other women. It wasn't until 1928 that all woman over 21 could vote.
Written and researched by Kathryn Day, additional research Charlotte Day.
© MarlowAncestors
* This group was founded in 1867 and later was part of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. A meeting of the latter, non political and non militant, were held at Danesfield in 1912. (Mr & Mrs Hornby Lewis then in residence)
Related posts:
Women's riots of 1800 - here
General listing of posts related to women's history in Marlow and also general everyday life - here
To find every mention of an individual here see the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu.
Sources include:
The Englishwoman's Review of Social and Industrial Questions Volume 13 edited by Jessie Bourchet (1882) and Volume 4 1873.
Annual Report of the National Society for Women's Suffrage 1872, digitized by Google. Accessed August 2020.
First Report of the Executive Committee, National Society for Women's Suffrage. July 1872.
South Bucks Standard May 1908, February 1909. January & November 1910, January & April 1912, March 1913.
Maidenhead Advertiser January 1913.
Woman's Franchise Journal 11 February 1909.
The Vote, November 1912.
Slough, Eton and Windsor Observer, 28 February 1914 , Slough Library.
