In our Serjeant at Arms collection are a series of reports by police officers stationed at Parliament. They report suffragette protests that occurred in the Houses of Parliament estate as part of a wider campaign for votes for women. Many of these demonstrations were carried out by the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) but other suffragette organisations were also involved as well as individuals. For example, this account is from 23 November 1910 recording suffragette Fanny Streatfield who punched a pane of glass at St Stephen’s entrance with her bare fist!
Storm the Gates
The first obstacle to overcome for many suffragettes trying to protest in Parliament was gaining access to the building and not all of their plans were successful.
On 31 March 1909 at 4pm, a car suddenly stopped outside the New Palace Yard Gates. Either it was a large car, or it was very cramped inside as 20 women of the WSPU got out and made a dash for the gates. The gates were closed by police before anyone could get inside and nine of the women were arrested.
One of the nine women arrested was Florence Feek, who worked for the Post Office. She was sentenced and put in prison for a month, with the time away from work taken out of her annual leave! Another of those arrested was Ada Broughton, who was known as a powerful speaker and in 1919 became one of the five Labour women elected to Bermondsey Council and later appointed as Chairman of the Maternity and Child Welfare Committee.
Over a year later, on 23 November 1910 at 3.30 pm, another attempt was made by the WSPU. This time they approached from multiple entrances at once. Most of the women were repelled by police, but four women were able to break through at St Stephen’s Carriage Gate, however they were turned back by police further inside. One suffragette did manage to get passed, they ran through Westminster Hall, she made it as far as the Member’s Entrance before being apprehended. The group didn’t stop after being turned outside onto the street, the women still persisted in trying to re-enter the building. 18 women were arrested following this incident.
If Not By Land, Then By Sea
Entering the building on foot was not the only method in their arsenal. There were other ways that the suffragettes used to try and engage with MPs. The Palace of Westminster is conveniently located on the bank of the River Thames and Parliament has a Terrace that runs along the riverfront side of the building, which was often frequented by Members and Peers.
On 18 June 1908, the police had been warned by a press representative that suffragettes planned to attempt to land on the Terrace at high water and so were prepared to prevent their entry. At 4pm a boat named ‘Lottie’ sailed across the Thames with several women, flags advertising a WPSU meeting at Hyde Park and a small band. Suffragette Mrs Drummond addressed the MPs sitting on the Terrace with a megaphone, but they never attempted to land.
Mrs Flora Drummond was a Scottish suffragette nicknamed ‘The General’ as she often wore a uniform with epaulettes and a cap and led a drum and fife band, likely a similar band to the one she brought on the boat. She was imprisoned nine times in total for her suffragette actions.
This was not the only river protest, on 22 July 1913 at 5.10pm a boat named ‘La Keine’ with five women from the Women’s Freedom League attempted to land alongside the wall leading to the Speaker’s Green, but they were stopped by police. Instead, they addressed the Members on the Terrace on issues of women’s suffrage and threw invitation cards onto the Terrace, similar to the card below.
To prevent similar protests by suffragettes in boats, the police report states that they have applied for a motor boat to patrol opposite Parliament when the Houses are sitting. This must have worked, as there are no further written reports from this collection of suffragettes trying to access Parliament by boat.
Defacement and Disguise
Other times suffragettes would go for a more subtle approach, by being escorted into the building by gentlemen. The gentlemen would ask to see an MP and be led into Central Lobby, whilst the lady would wait in St Stephen’s Hall. Here is a photograph of St Stephen’s Hall from 1905, only a few years earlier than these events.
On 22 June 1909 at 3.15pm, Marion Wallace Dunlop was escorted by a gentleman and left to wait in St Stephen’s Hall as procedure allowed. While there she used a rubber stamp and ink, to imprint an advertisement for a WSPU meeting with a passage from the Bill of Rights underneath straight onto the wall of St Stephen’s Hall. However, she was caught, the text was smudged and so became illegible.
However, Marion was not deterred, two days later she returned “very much in disguise” accompanied by Victor Duval. Again, whilst waiting in St Stephen’s Hall, she stamped the message again onto the wall. Both Marion and Victor were arrested for this. You can see this event immortalised in the newspaper cutting below, with what the police report states is a faked photograph.
Whilst in prison for her defacement of St Stephen’s Hall, Marion Wallace Dunlop was the first suffragette to use hunger strike as a form of protest. This strategy was quickly adopted by the WSPU. She fasted for 91 hours before she was released due to ill health.
Victor Duval was a suffragist who founded the Men’s Political Union for Women’s Enfranchisement (MPU) in 1910 and was the brother of suffragettes Elsie Duval and Barbara Duval. Elsie was the first woman to be released from Holloway Prison in 1913 under the ‘Cat and Mouse Act’.
Chaining Themselves
You may be familiar with the famous 1908 Grille Incident, where suffragettes chained themselves to the grille in the Ladies Gallery. To free the women, the grille had to removed with the women still attached. But this was not the only account of women chaining themselves to objects in Parliament.
On 27 April 1909 at 4pm, two gentlemen accompanied five ladies who waited in St Stephen’s Hall, they quickly put chains around the statues that stood along the Hall and handcuffed themselves to these chains. They chained themselves to the statues of Walpole, Falkland and Selden and Bertha Quinn chained advertisements for a WSPU meeting to the statue of Somers and loudly blew a whistle. Police quickly cut the chains and removed them all from the Hall.
According to a later note from 1931, they obtained the bolt cutters in 1908 to cut suffragette chains, likely for the Grille Incident, and these were used again for this incident. They remark on the very efficient work of the bolt cutters on the chains, as according to the report it only took 7 or 8 minutes to cut all the chains.
Bertha Quinn later went on to become a Labour councillor for Leeds from 1929 to 1943 and was a Trade Union representative for Tailors and Garment Workers from 1915 to 1943. One of the other women who chained herself to the statues was Theresa Garnett, who was imprisoned in 1909 for assaulting Winston Churchill. While in prison she went on a hunger strike, but like many hunger-striking suffragettes, she was force-fed. To protest being force-fed in prison she set her cell on fire and was subsequently sent to solitary confinement.
These reports give you just a snapshot of the suffragette activity happening during this time, and this only includes events that occurred on the estate of the Houses of Parliament. There are a total of 53 police reports from this collection for suffragette disturbances in parliament spanning from 1906 to 1919. This provides some perspective on the dedication of suffragettes to protest and fight for the right to vote.
References
The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide, 1866–1928, Elizabeth Crawford
From Suffrage to Citizenship - Celebrating 100 Pioneers
Suffragette Florence Feek (Postal Museum blog)
Marion Wallace Dunlop (Exploring Surrey’s Past)
Who Led Leeds? Public Service between the Wars (Leeds Heritage Blog)
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