Suffragette Memorial

The sculpture in 2012

The Suffragette Memorial is an outdoor bronze cast sculpture, commemorating the individuals who fought for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, and is located in the north-west corner of Christchurch Gardens, Victoria, London.[1][2] The sculptor was Edwin Russell and the statue was unveiled in 1970.[3]

The memorial is in the shape of a scroll, created in fibreglass and cast in bronze, placed on a circular plinth.[4] It features the badges of the Women's Social and Political Union and the Women's Freedom League.[4] The text of the scroll reads:[1][4]

This tribute is erected by the Suffragette Fellowship to commemorate the courage and perseverance of all those men and women who in the long struggle for votes for women selflessly braved derision, opposition and ostracism, many enduring physical violence and suffering.

An additional inscription notes that Caxton Hall, a nearby building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, 'was historically associated with women's suffrage meetings and deputations to parliament'.[1]

The memorial was commissioned by the Suffragette Fellowship, and a number of surviving suffragettes attended the unveiling, including Grace Roe, then Fellowship president, Edith Clayton Pepper, Leonora Cohen and Lilian Lenton.[4][5] At the unveiling Labour politician Edith Summerskill, Baroness Summerskill told the audience of the debt she felt towards the suffragettes, adding 'I will not fail to try and make some contribution to the women's cause'.[5] Also in attendance, Labour politician, and Speaker of the House of Commons, Horace King, Baron Maybray-King, said that he believed 'sooner or later' there would be a woman Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sculpture: Suffragettes sculpture scroll". London Remembers. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
  2. ↑ "Planning and Development Committee application for memorial" (PDF). Westminster City Council. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
  3. ↑ "Christchurch Gardens". London Gardens Online. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "Suffragette Fellowship Memorial (1521194)". PastScape. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Dr King's Praise For Suffragettes". The Herald (Glasgow). 1970-07-15. Retrieved 2014-09-27.

Media related to Christchurch Gardens at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 51°29′54″N 0°08′05″W / 51.498244°N 0.134823°W / 51.498244; -0.134823

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