Ada Jane Summers (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Broome; 1861–1944) was the first British woman to sit as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

, and one of the first women in England to become a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. She was also the first female

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

, mayor and

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 23,731 at the 2011 Census. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east of Manchester city centre and no ...

near

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. She was also a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Early and personal life

She was born in

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

in 1861, where her father George Broome owned a textile mill. In 1881, she married John Summers JP, of the

John Summers & Sons John Summers & Sons Ltd was a major United Kingdom iron and steel producer, latterly based on the Dee Estuary at Shotton, Flintshire. The company was absorbed into British Steel Corporation in 1967; British Steel became Corus in 1999 and this c ...

steelworks. His family owned the Globe Ironworks in Stalybridge. They had four children, Kathleen, John Broome, Gerald, and Ada. John died in 1903, aged nineteen, when he fell from a hotel window in St Ives, Cornwall. Their son Gerald Summers (1885-1969) became a painter. Her husband died in 1910.

Political and judicial career

Summers was elected as a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

councillor in Stalybridge in 1912. She was then elected mayor in November 1919, and served until 1921. As Mayor of Stalybridge, she was ''ex officio'' a Justice of the Peace, and was sworn in as the first female Justice of the Peace in England on 31 December 1919, one week after the

Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It became law when it received Royal Assent on 23 December 1919.''Oliver & Boyd's new Edinburgh almanac and national repository for the year 1921''. p. 213 ...

came into force. In October 1920 she was appointed a Justice of the Peace in the borough in her own right, again the first woman in Britain to do so. She was appointed a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1918, and became an honorary

Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

of the borough in 1939.

Philanthropy

Summers used the wealth inherited from her husband to pursue philanthropic aims, including funding a maternity and child welfare centre, and an employment centre in Stalybridge, the Ladies Work Society. She set up a nurses' home in 1926. At Christmas she would give presents to local children, and she paid for a

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

. She served as president of Stalybridge Mechanics Institute from 1926 until 1936. She founded a boys club in January 1929, which became known as "Mrs Summers Boy's Club". She was president of the Stalybridge branch of the

British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The Soc ...

. She was also involved with the probation and social services of the Police Court Mission. She was among the first contributors to the Young Men's Christian Association National War Service Fund when she donated £100 in 1939. After her death, she was described (without irony) as "

Lady Bountiful ''The Beaux' Stratagem'' is a comedy by George Farquhar, first produced at the Theatre Royal, now the site of Her Majesty's Theatre, in the Haymarket, London, on March 8, 1707. In the play, Archer and Aimwell, two young gentlemen who have fall ...

Legacy

Summers died in 1944. There is a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

about her at Stalybridge Civic Hall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Ada 1861 births 1944 deaths English justices of the peace English philanthropists Mayors of places in Greater Manchester Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Oldham English women philanthropists English women judges Liberal Party (UK) councillors Women councillors in England Women mayors of places in England