Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1888-1925 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
0.96 linear metres
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The Women's Local Government Society (also called the Society for Promoting Women as County Councillors) was founded in the late 1880s by Annie Leigh Browne as a network of Liberals, suffragettes and other like-minded women who believed that women should be allowed to play a greater part in political life, and who wished to challenge confusion created by the Local Government Act, 1888, which gave women the right to vote in local council elections but not to stand in them. Women had been given the right to stand for election to Boards such as School Boards, but the 1888 Act absorbed these bodies into the new Councils, meaning that women lost their places on the Boards. The Society was founded in London but encouraged the formation of regional branches.
The Society was involved in campaign work, legal challenges and lobbying which resulted in the 1907 "Qualification of Women" Act which allowed women ratepayers to be elected to Borough and County Councils. Following the passing of the 1907 Act the Society gave practical support to women standing for election. In December 1907 Reina Emily Lawrence, London's first female councillor, was elected on to Hampstead Borough Council after winning a by-election with a majority of 319 votes. She was supported by the Hampstead branch of the Society.
The Society stopped operating during the First World War, although it was revived in 2006-07 to celebrate the centenary of the 1907 legislation.
Some information from the website of the Women's Local Government Society, http://www.womeninlocalgovernment.org.uk/index.php?action=background (accessed June 2010).
Repository
Archival history
GB 0074 A/WLG 1888-1925 Collection 0.96 linear metres Women's Local Government Society
The Women's Local Government Society (also called the Society for Promoting Women as County Councillors) was founded in the late 1880s by Annie Leigh Browne as a network of Liberals, suffragettes and other like-minded women who believed that women should be allowed to play a greater part in political life, and who wished to challenge confusion created by the Local Government Act, 1888, which gave women the right to vote in local council elections but not to stand in them. Women had been given the right to stand for election to Boards such as School Boards, but the 1888 Act absorbed these bodies into the new Councils, meaning that women lost their places on the Boards. The Society was founded in London but encouraged the formation of regional branches.
The Society was involved in campaign work, legal challenges and lobbying which resulted in the 1907 "Qualification of Women" Act which allowed women ratepayers to be elected to Borough and County Councils. Following the passing of the 1907 Act the Society gave practical support to women standing for election. In December 1907 Reina Emily Lawrence, London's first female councillor, was elected on to Hampstead Borough Council after winning a by-election with a majority of 319 votes. She was supported by the Hampstead branch of the Society.
The Society stopped operating during the First World War, although it was revived in 2006-07 to celebrate the centenary of the 1907 legislation.
Some information from the website of the Women's Local Government Society, http://www.womeninlocalgovernment.org.uk/index.php?action=background (accessed June 2010).
Deposited in the London County Record Office by A. E. Chandler and J. Kilgour of Sidmouth, in August 1955.
Records of the Women's Local Government Society, including minutes of the Executive Committee, Council and sub-committees; annual reports; outgoing letters; printed notices, memoranda, letters and handbills printed by the Society.
A/WLG-1: Minutes; A/WLG-2: Annual reports; A/WLG-3: Outgoing letters; A/WLG-4: Printed material.
Available for general access.
Copyright to these records rests with the City of London.
English
Fit
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
See also papers relating to the Women's Local Government Society, reference NA1345, at the Women's Library Special Collections, London School of Economics.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. June to August 2010. Politics Political reform Electoral reform Sex distribution Sex Women Groups Political groups Government Public administration Local government Local government electoral arrangements People People by occupation Personnel Local government personnel Political sociology Political behaviour Political participation Political science Suffragettes Womens suffrage Electoral systems Internal politics Suffrage Political campaigns Borough councils Local authorities County councils Political activists Women's Local Government Society x Women's Local Government Association Society for Promoting Women as County Councillors London England UK Western Europe Europe
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited in the London County Record Office by A. E. Chandler and J. Kilgour of Sidmouth, in August 1955.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Records of the Women's Local Government Society, including minutes of the Executive Committee, Council and sub-committees; annual reports; outgoing letters; printed notices, memoranda, letters and handbills printed by the Society.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
A/WLG-1: Minutes; A/WLG-2: Annual reports; A/WLG-3: Outgoing letters; A/WLG-4: Printed material.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Available for general access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright to these records rests with the City of London.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
See also papers relating to the Women's Local Government Society, reference NA1345, at the Women's Library Special Collections, London School of Economics.
Finding aids
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; 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