S for Suffragistes and Suffragettes
The Women’s Library at LSE Library
The real fight for women’s suffrage was tougher, messier, more inventive and far more wide-ranging than the popular version suggests. And it certainly wasn’t the work of one woman, one organisation, or one tactic.
This walk, created and guided by Isobel, takes you beyond the myths and into the lived reality of the campaign. It begins early. In 1832, Mary Smith presented the first petition by a woman demanding the vote to Parliament. She pointed out, perfectly reasonably, that she paid taxes, obeyed the law and saw no reason why she should not have a say. The Commons laughed it out.
What followed was nearly a century of organised pressure. Women’s suffrage organisations multiplied throughout the nineteenth century, with the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies becoming the largest and most influential, boasting more than 100,000 members by the outbreak of the First World War. Its president, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, played the decisive role in securing the vote for some women in 1918 and in the final victory of 1928, when all women over 21 gained the franchise.
The Women’s Social and Political Union, dubbed “Suffragettes” by the Daily Mail and led by Emmeline Pankhurst, is the best remembered, though it was always a minority organisation and disbanded in 1917. Its visibility has tended to eclipse the many other women and groups whose persistence, strategy and sheer stamina carried the campaign over the line.
Along the way, Suffragists and Suffragettes used tactics that were imaginative, courageous and sometimes shocking: evading the census by skating through the night, dropping leaflets from hot air balloons, marching through torrential rain, smashing plate glass windows with toffee hammers, enduring prison and force-feeding.
This walk brings those stories back into balance. It restores overlooked heroines to centre stage, explains why certain myths took hold, and shows how a broad, determined movement transformed women from political outsiders into citizens.
History lost, found and decoded. And a reminder that being “bloody difficult” has a proud and world-changing pedigree.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING
Created and guided by Isobel, S for Suffragistes and Suffragettes looks at significant individuals, places, and actions which contributed to women finally gaining the right to vote, as well as contemporary feminist activists.
HISTORY LOST, FOUND & DECODED
You name it, they did it…
And let the world know about it
Celia –
An excellent afternoon, thanks to all we learnt from Isobel’s clear and interesting commentary. A good route, and plenty to follow up on. Fun too, and enjoyable chatting to others as we walked.
Bethh –
Excellent, informative, and a great peek into history. Thank you so much for this tour!
Lesley Stansfield –
Thoroughly enjoyed Isobel’s commentary. Has inspired me to find out more about WFL and Muriel. Definitely one to recommend.
David Carvajal –
Funny and packed full of interesting stories. Thank you Isobel, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your walk.
Colin Adams –
Very informative and interesting commentary from Isobel, an excellent guide
Mary –
Excellent walk. Isobel is very knowledgeable and entertaining.
Diana Stainbank –
An excellent walk. Isobel was very personable with a good sense of humour. She imparted a great deal of information and looked after the group very well, keeping us together and encouraging us to talk to others in the group.