| Ref No | Strand/02 |
| Title | Strand 2: Women's Suffrage Societies |
| Description | The Women's Library Archives Strand 2: Women's Suffrage Societies, contains the records of key suffrage organisations.
The archives consist of minutes, annual reports, correspondence including policy and subject files, legal and financial papers, pamphlets, scrapbooks, photographs, press cuttings and memorabilia. Please see individual catalogues for full details.
The archives include papers dating from both before and after the granting of the franchise to women. Represented are international, national and regional campaigning organisations. There are also some very sector-specific campaign societies represented, such as the Artists' Suffrage League (2ASL).
Although known as the 'Suffrage Strand', several of these organisations (the Fawcett Society and International Alliance of Women) are still in existence today, actively campaigning for the equality of women. These archives continue to accrue and reflect the continuity of many of the gender equality campaigns from the 19th century to the present day.
Material is predominantly in English with other languages used where material is of an international nature.
The Strand comprised the following archives:
* 2AFL Actresses' Franchise League
* 2ASL Artists' Suffrage League
* 2BWS Bristol & West of England Society for Women's Suffrage
* 2CSS Consultative Committee of Constitutional Women's Suffrage Societies
* 2HWS Hitchin, Stevenage and District Women's Suffrage Society
* 2IAW International Alliance of Women
* 2LSW Fawcett Society and its Predecessors [notably the London Society for Women's Suffrage]
* 2MNS Manchester National Society for Women's Suffrage
* 2NSE National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship
* 2NWS National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
* 2OWS Oldham Women's Suffrage Society
* 2PRI Memento from 'Practical Suffragists' to Anna M Priestman, Mary Priestman, Margaret A Tanner and 'honoured friends'
* 2PWS National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies: Portsmouth Branch
* 2SBA Susan B Anthony Memorial Committee
* 2SEC Societies for Equal Citizenship
* 2SJA St Joan's International Alliance
* 2SWH Scottish Women's Hospitals
* 2WFL Women's Freedom League
* 2WFS Women's Freedom League Sheffield Branch
* 2WNA Women's National Anti-Suffrage League
* 2WTR Women's Tax Resistance League |
| Date | 1867-1994 |
| Subject | Women |
| Womens suffrage |
| Womens organisations |
| Related Material | The Women's Library holds extensive collections related to the campaigns for women's suffrage. The Printed Collections, Archives and Museum Collections all hold material on the suffrage campaigns. As at 2008 a source note (subject guide) to suffrage was available on The Women's Library website.
The Women's Library, Archives relating to suffrage:
The Women's Library, Archives Strand 3
3JSM James Stansfeld Memorial Trust
The Women's Library, Archives Strand 5
5DMM Dame Margery Corbett Ashby Memorial Fund#
5ICW International Council of Women
5LCM League of Church Militant
The Women's Library, Archives Strand 7
7AAB Alice Ann Burbury
7ACP Alicia Percival
7AMP A Muriel Pierotti
7AMR Agnes Maude Royden
7ARA Annie Ramsay
7BMC Papers of Barbara McCrimmon related to Barbara Bodichon [née Leigh Smith]
7BRA Metropolitan Police Notice of Georgina Brackenbury
7BSI Bayard Simmons
7CFD Charlotte Despard
7EES Edith Eskrigge
7EFR Elsa Fraenkel
7EGA Dr Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
7EGM Eunice Guthrie Murray
7EHM Edith How-Martyn
7EIJ Ellen Isabel Jones
7ELB Elsie Edith Bowerman
7ELR Eleanor Rathbone
7EMW Edith Mary Watson
7ESP Sylvia Pankhurst
7ESW Eva Stephenson and Maurice Wilkins
7EWD Emily Wilding Davison
7FBG Fiona Billington Greig and family
7FCS Florence C Stevens
7GLS Gertrude Lind Setchfield
7HAM D Hamer and John Ellerton
7HAS Anne Haskall
7HAY Sylvia Haymon
7HCR Helen Craggs [Lady Pethick-Lawrence]
7HFD Hugh Franklin and Elsie Duval
7HMC Harriet McIlquham
7HRM Harriet Martineau
7HMS Hilda Marjory Squire
7JKE Jessie Kenney
7JMS Jane Maria Strachey
7KDC Kathleen D'Olier Courtney
7KGG Katie Gliddon
7KMA Kitty Marion [Katherina Schafer]
7LAC Annie Lacon
7LEB Lydia Becker
7LGA Louisa Garrett Anderson
7MAR Mary Ann Rawle
7MBC Mary Beatrice Crowle
7MBY Margaret Byham
7MDS Mary Danvers Stocks
7MER ME Roberts
7MET Mary Ellen Taylor
7MGB Millicent Garrett Fawcett
7MHE Margaret Heitland
7MHK Speech by Mary Kingsley
7MLB Mary Leigh Browne
7MMI Suffrage notebook [Gift of Mary Mills]
7MPR Millie Price (nee Browne)
7MSB Myra Sadd Brown
7MSH Mary Sheepshanks
7NLA Nina Last
7NOR Lady Florence Priscilla Norman
7PHS Philippa [Pippa] Strachey
7RCB Ruth Cavendish Bentinck
7RLY Rose Lamartine Yates
7RMB Rosa May Billinghurst
7SCT St Clair Townsend
7SWW Sybil W White
7TBG Teresa Billington-Greig
7VDG Vida Goldstein
7VJH Vera (Jack) Holme
7VLI Victoria Lidiard
7WAR Winifred Adair-Roberts
The Women's Library, Archives Strand 8 - Records of oral history and research projects
8SUF Oral evidence on the suffragette and suffragist movements
The Women's Library, Archives Strand 9 - Autograph Letter Collection
9/01 Women's suffrage
9/03 Emancipation of Women, British Commonwealth and United States of America
9/09 Suffrage and Women in Industry
9/11 Letters Related to William Thomas Stead
9/13 Letters to and from Harriet McIlquham
9/14 Letters from Mrs Fawcett To Mrs Badley
9/15 Women's Institute
9/19 Keir Hardie
9/20 Millitant Suffragettes, the Webbs and Ramsay MacDonald
9/21 Letters of Constance Lytton
9/22 Scholars and Learned Ladies
9/25 Biographical notes by Mrs Billington Greig
9/26 Taylor Collection
9/27 Strachey Letters
9/28 Becker Collection
9/29 Letters of Rosa May Billinghurst and Dr Alice Ker
The Women's Library, Archives Strand 10 - Scrap Books and Press Cuttings
10/01 Scrapbook [probably of the Artists' Suffrage League]
The Women's Library Museum Collection contains a variety of objects relating to women's suffrage, primarily created to support campaigining activities. See the following collections for more details:
* Badge Collection
* Banner Collection (these include 51 banners relating to women's suffrage)
* Photograph Collection
* Postcard Collection
* Poster Collection
Key collections on women's suffrage can also be found at The Museum of London (the Later Modern Collections include the Suffrage Fellowship Collection, key material from the Women's Social & Political Union. Surviving regional campaigning organisations archives can be located in local record offices. |
| Physical Description | The majority of material is in fair condition. However some individual items are at risk, through fragility or over-use. |
| Place_Code | NA467 |
| Access_Status | Open |
| CatalogueStatus | Catalogued |
| Extent | 21 archives (174 A boxes) |
| Level | Management Group |
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA966 | National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies; 1897-1919; suffrage organisation | 1897-1919 |
| NA1420 | Birmingham Women's Suffrage Society; 1868-; suffrage organisation | 1868- |
| NA1421 | The Women's Suffrage Petition Committee [aka Kensington Committee]; 1865-1866; suffrage organisation | 1865-1866 |
| NA1422 | Women's Suffrage Provisional Committee; 1866-1867; suffrage organisation | 1866-1867 |
| NA1423 | Manchester Women's Suffrage Committee; 1867; suffrage organisation | 1867 |
| NA1424 | Manchester Society For Women's Suffrage; 1867-; suffrage organisation | 1867- |
| NA1013 | London National Society for Women's Suffrage; 1867-1871; suffrage organisation | 1867-1871 |
| NA1425 | Edinburgh Women's Suffrage Society; 1867; suffrage organisation | 1867 |
| NA1426 | London National Society For Women's Suffrage; 1871-1877; suffrage organisation | 1871-1877 |
| NA1427 | National Society For Women's Suffrage; 1867-; suffrage organisation | 1867- |
| NA1428 | Bristol Women's Suffrage Society; 1868-; suffrage organisation | 1868- |
| NA722 | Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage; 1877-1888; suffrage organisation | 1877-1888 |
| NA1429 | Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage; 1871-1877; suffrage organisation | 1871-1877 |
| NA1050 | Oldham Women's Suffrage Society; 1901-1921; suffrage organisation | 1901-1921 |
| NA1046 | Actresses' Franchise League; 1908-1934; suffrage organisation | 1908-1934 |
| NA1047 | Artists' Suffrage League; 1907-c.1918; suffrage organisation | 1907-c.1918 |
| NA1048 | Bristol & West of England Society for Women's Suffrage; 1868-1914; suffrage organisation | 1868-1914 |
| NA147 | Consultative Committee of Constitutional Women's Suffrage Societies; 1916-1918; suffrage organisation | 1916-1918 |
| NA1049 | Hitchin Stevenage and District Women's Suffrage Society; 1909-1918; suffrage organisation | 1909-1918 |
| NA855 | International Alliance of Women; 1902-fl.2007; gender equality pressure group | 1902-fl.2007 |
| NA935 | Fawcett Society; 1953-fl.2008; gender equality pressure group | 1953-fl.2008 |
| NA1432 | London Society for Women's Suffrage; 1907-1919; suffrage organisation | 1907-1919 |
| NA1040 | Manchester National Society for Women's Suffrage; fl.1860-1897; suffrage organisation | fl.1860-1897 |
| NA1041 | National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship; 1918-1945 | 1918-1945 |
| NA1051 | National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies: Portsmouth branch; 1909-1913; suffrage organisation | 1909-1913 |
| NA1053 | Susan B Anthony Memorial Committee; fl. 1937-1949; womens campaign group | fl. 1937-1949 |
| NA1494 | St Joan's International Alliance [Great Britain & Northern Ireland Section]; 1954-fl.2007; gender equality pressure group | 1954-fl.2007 |
| NA720 | Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service; 1914-1919; suffrage organisation | 1914-1919 |
| NA938 | Women's Freedom League; 1907-1961; suffrage organisation | 1907-1961 |
| NA1056 | Women's Freedom League Sheffield Branch; 1908-1919 | 1908-1919 |
| NA1058 | Women's National Anti-Suffrage League; 1908-1918; anti-female suffrage organisation | 1908-1918 |
| NA1057 | Women's Tax Resistance League; 1909-1918; suffrage organisation | 1909-1918 |