Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- c 1909-1913 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
0.25 A box (1 folder)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Winifred Adair-Roberts (fl 1910-1974) was brought up in Hampstead, the seventh child of a family of nine; all girls bar one. Her parents were Irish and her father co-owned a chemical works (Boke, Roberts) in Stratford. It moved to Walthamstow in 1974. Winifred was educated at private schools including, briefly, St. Felix, South Wold and Polam Hall (Durham). Winifred also attended a short course at the Gloucester Domestic Science College. She did voluntary work with the 'Women's Voluntary Reserve' in the First World War but did no paid work as she seems to have suffered lifelong poor health. In an interview conducted by Professor Brian Harrison, c 1974, Winifred was thought to be well into her eighties. In the interview she described her family background. All seven sisters went to school (several boarding schools are specified) and to college. She also recalled selling Votes for Women standing in the gutter on Finchley Road, near John Barnes store and stewarding at large Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) meetings. She claimed to have brought hot dinners (cooked at home in Hampstead) to Mrs Pankhurst, hiding out in the WSPU office at Lincolns Inn. They were smuggled in under the noses of the police. Her eldest sister, Muriel, a doctor, was imprisoned as part of the suffrage protests. Ethel, a PE specialist, was apparently good at helping to hide Mrs Pankhurst, who apparently looked like 'Dresden China'.
Repository
Archival history
GB 106 7WAR c 1909-1913 fonds 0.25 A box (1 folder) Roberts , Winifred , Adair- , fl1910-1974 , suffragette
Winifred Adair-Roberts (fl 1910-1974) was brought up in Hampstead, the seventh child of a family of nine; all girls bar one. Her parents were Irish and her father co-owned a chemical works (Boke, Roberts) in Stratford. It moved to Walthamstow in 1974. Winifred was educated at private schools including, briefly, St. Felix, South Wold and Polam Hall (Durham). Winifred also attended a short course at the Gloucester Domestic Science College. She did voluntary work with the 'Women's Voluntary Reserve' in the First World War but did no paid work as she seems to have suffered lifelong poor health. In an interview conducted by Professor Brian Harrison, c 1974, Winifred was thought to be well into her eighties. In the interview she described her family background. All seven sisters went to school (several boarding schools are specified) and to college. She also recalled selling Votes for Women standing in the gutter on Finchley Road, near John Barnes store and stewarding at large Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) meetings. She claimed to have brought hot dinners (cooked at home in Hampstead) to Mrs Pankhurst, hiding out in the WSPU office at Lincolns Inn. They were smuggled in under the noses of the police. Her eldest sister, Muriel, a doctor, was imprisoned as part of the suffrage protests. Ethel, a PE specialist, was apparently good at helping to hide Mrs Pankhurst, who apparently looked like 'Dresden China'.
Deposited by Miss Winifred Adair Roberts, through Dr Brian Harrison of Corpus Christi College. Precise date of acquisition unknown, but c 1974. Rediscovered during the move of the Library, 2002 among 'unsorted archival miscellany' and formally accessioned, July 2003.
The archive consists of correspondence and memorabilia relating to Adair-Roberts' involvement in the women's suffrage movement. It comprises a signed photograph of Emmeline Pankhurst in prison costume, [1909]; a 'broad arrow' pin badge as worn by suffragettes after imprisonment, [1912]; menu for the celebratory breakfast held by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) on the release of Muriel Roberts and other suffragettes from Holloway Prison, Mar 1909; a telegram from Sylvia Pankhurst to Miss Adair Roberts; a letter to Adair Roberts from Beatrice Saunders of the WSPU, Nov 1913.
This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.
English
The Women's Library Catalogue
The Women's Library holds an oral history interview with Mrs Roberts (see 8SUF) and a handkerchief with suffragette signatures collected and embroidered by Mrs Roberts. The Women's Library holds the records of a number of militant, Women's Social & Political Union members, including Emily Wilding Davison (7EWD) and Louisa Garrett Anderson (7LGA). The records of the Women's Social and Political Union are held at The Museum of London. The Women's Library Printed Collections also holds a number of publications by the Women's Social and Political Union.
Finding aid created by export from CALM v7.2.14 Archives Hub EAD2002. Edited for AIM25 by Sarah Drewery.
In compliance with ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description - 2nd Edition (1999); UNESCO Thesaurus, December 2001; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
07/03/2008 Roberts , Winifred , Adair- , fl 1910 , suffragette Women Organizations Associations Womens organizations Prisoners Disadvantaged groups Electoral systems Internal politics Womens suffrage Pankhurst , Emmeline , 1858-1928 , nee Goulden , suffragist Pankhurst , Estelle Sylvia , 1882-1960 , suffragist and political campaigner Women's Social and Political Union Holloway Prison Sex Sex distribution
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited by Miss Winifred Adair Roberts, through Dr Brian Harrison of Corpus Christi College. Precise date of acquisition unknown, but c 1974. Rediscovered during the move of the Library, 2002 among 'unsorted archival miscellany' and formally accessioned, July 2003.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The archive consists of correspondence and memorabilia relating to Adair-Roberts' involvement in the women's suffrage movement. It comprises a signed photograph of Emmeline Pankhurst in prison costume, [1909]; a 'broad arrow' pin badge as worn by suffragettes after imprisonment, [1912]; menu for the celebratory breakfast held by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) on the release of Muriel Roberts and other suffragettes from Holloway Prison, Mar 1909; a telegram from Sylvia Pankhurst to Miss Adair Roberts; a letter to Adair Roberts from Beatrice Saunders of the WSPU, Nov 1913.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
The Women's Library holds an oral history interview with Mrs Roberts (see 8SUF) and a handkerchief with suffragette signatures collected and embroidered by Mrs Roberts. The Women's Library holds the records of a number of militant, Women's Social & Political Union members, including Emily Wilding Davison (7EWD) and Louisa Garrett Anderson (7LGA). The records of the Women's Social and Political Union are held at The Museum of London. The Women's Library Printed Collections also holds a number of publications by the Women's Social and Political Union.
Finding aids
The Women's Library Catalogue
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
Notes area
Note
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
- Sex distribution » Sex » Women
- Organizations
- Organizations » Associations
- Organizations » Associations » Womens organizations
- Disadvantaged groups » Prisoners
- Disadvantaged groups
- Internal politics » Electoral systems
- Internal politics
- Internal politics » Electoral systems » Womens suffrage
- Sex distribution » Sex
- Sex distribution
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
In compliance with ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description - 2nd Edition (1999); UNESCO Thesaurus, December 2001; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English