Louisa Martindale (feminist)

Louisa Martindale, née Spicer (25 June 1839 – 15 March 1914) was a British activist for women's rights and suffragist.^[1]

She was born in Woodford Green, Essex.^[1] Her father, James Spicer, was a wholesale stationer with a successful family business. The family were prominent Congregationalists.^[1][2]

She founded the Ray Lodge Mission Station in Woodford Green in 1865.^[1] During her time in Brighton, she was one of the founders of the Women's Liberal Association (1891), Women's Co-operative Movement and a women's dispensary that later became the New Sussex Hospital for Women and Children. She was also involved with the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Women's Suffrage Society.^[1] She assisted her brother, Albert Spicer, a Liberal MP for the Monmouth Boroughs (1892–1900) and Hackney Central (1906–18),^[1][2] who himself worked on issues such as the admission of women into county councils.^[3]

Her interest in women's rights dated from 1867. She spoke in Spicer's Monmouth constituency on issues such as the aforementioned admission of women into county councils, wrote lectures on the rights of women and related topics, and supported women's right to preach.^[1] In 1904, she attended (with her daughter Hilda) the International Congress of Women in Berlin, where she met Susan B. Anthony; she was a member of the executive committee of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, and a vice-president of the Central Society.^[3] Not just content with political action, Martindale engaged in a practical manner to improve the situation of women. In the 1880s, she opened her house for shop girls on alternate Saturdays, and took a number of underprivileged young women under her wing, among whom was Margaret Bondfield, later the first female Cabinet member of the United Kingdom.^[3][4][5]

Personal life

In 1871, she married William Martindale, a merchant. Their marriage was short-lived; he died only a few years later. Their children included Louisa, a surgeon, and Hilda, a civil servant Hilda Martindale. A third daughter died in infancy.^[1] After her husband's death in around 1874, she travelled with her young daughters in England and Europe, eventually settling in Brighton. In 1903, she moved to Horsted Keynes in Sussex, where she built a Congregational church.^[1]

Death

Martindale died from pneumonia in Horsted Keynes on 15 March 1914, aged 74.^[1]

Legacy

Louisa Martindale's legacy is by now well-recognized. The history of her work in Horsted Keynes, as a founder of the Congregationalist "Free Church" there, as a community leader, and as an advocate of women's religious rights, is maintained in the Martindale Centre, in the heart of the village.^[6]

Perhaps her legacy is best symbolized by her brother James Spicer's great-granddaughter, Harriet Harman QC MP, a Labour politician who has attained high-ranking functions such as Deputy Leader, and Party Chair of the Labour Party, Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal, and Minister for Women and Equality.^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Williamson, L. (2004). "Martindale, Louisa (1839-1914)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Jeremy, D.J. (2004). "Spicer, Sir Albert, first baronet (1847–1934)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/48204. Retrieved 2008-12-18. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Crawford, Elizabeth (2001). The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide, 1866-1928. London: Routledge. p. 387. ISBN 9780415239264. 
4. ^ Bourgoin, Suzanne Michele (2007). Encyclopedia of World Biography, Vol. 2. Gale Research. p. 388. ISBN 9780787625429. 
5. ^ Martindale, Hilda (1944). From One Generation to Another, 1839–1944: A Book of Memoirs. George Allen & Unwin. pp. 34, 35, 172. 
6. ^ Philpot, Chris (2008). "The Martindale Centre described in 1909". HorstedKeynes.com. http://www.horstedkeynes.com/martindalearticle.html. Retrieved 2008-12-19. 
7. ^ "Harman made equalities secretary". BBC. 2007-07-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6918188.stm. Retrieved 2008-12-19. 

Further reading

• Banks, O. The Biographical Dictionary of British Feminists. Vol. 2. New York: New York UP, 1990. ISBN 978-0814711460.
• Levine, Philippa. Victorian Feminism, 1850–1900. Gainesville: UP of Florida, 1989. ISBN 978-0813013213.
• Levine, Philippa. Feminist Lives in Victorian England: Private Roles and Public Commitment. Figueroa, 2004. ISBN 978-0972762595.
• Martindale, Hilda. From One Generation to Another. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1944.
• Martindale, Hilda. Some Victorian Portraits and Others. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1948. Repr. Ayer, 1970. ISBN 9780836980301.
• Martindale, Louisa. A Women Surgeon. London: Gollancz, 1951.

Persondata
Name	Martindale, Louisa
Alternative names	Spicer, Louisa
Short description	English suffragist
Date of birth	1839-06-25
Place of birth	Woodford Green, Essex, England, UK
Date of death	1914-03-15
Place of death	Horsted Keynes, Sussex, England, UK