Ada Vachell or Ada Marian Vachell or Sister Ada (27 December 1866 – 29 December 1923) was a worker for people with disabilities in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Life

Vachell was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

in 1866. Her mother was Mary Anne or Marian (born Fedden) and William Vachell who was an iron merchant and three times

Mayor of Cardiff This is a list of mayors of Cardiff, Wales. The first mayor recorded for Cardiff was in 1126 though the title was generally given to the Constable or military governor of Cardiff Castle.

Scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

left Ada weak and partially deaf and it killed two of her three brothers.Elizabeth Baigent, ‘Vachell, Ada Marian ister Ada(1866–1923)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 8 Oct 2016
/ref> Her father was Mayor of Cardiff for the third and last time in 1875Mayors and other secular officials
British History Online, information reproduced from ''Cardiff Records: Volume 5'' edited by John Hobson Matthews (1905) pp. 508-548. Retrieved 2016-12-08. and in 1877 the whole family moved to

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

in Bristol where her mother's family lived. Ada Vachell

Vachell appears to have had a disorderly education and she discovered her life's work when she visited

Grace Kimmins Dame Grace Mary Thyrza Kimmins, (''née'' Hannam; 6 May 1870 – 3 March 1954) was a British writer who created charities that worked with children who had disabilities. Biography Kimmins was born in Lewes, Sussex, the eldest of four children bo ...

who was working in East London and later in Sussex. Kimmins had taken her motto from

Juliana Horatia Ewing Juliana Horatia Ewing (née Gatty, 3 August 1841 – 13 May 1885) was an English writer of children's stories. Her writings display a sympathetic insight into children's lives, an admiration for things military, and a strong religious faith. L ...

's 1885 novel ''The Story of a Short Life''. She started the

Guild of the Poor Brave Things The Guild of the Brave Poor Things was a British charity for disabled children. It was established in 1894 by Dame Grace Kimmins (1871–1954) ''et al.'' to provide resources for disabled boys to enable them to make a productive place for themselv ...

to help children with disabilities in London. Vachell (like Kimmins) took her motto ‘Laetus sorte mea’ (‘Happy in my lot’) from Ewing's book.Seth Koven, ‘Kimmins , Dame Grace Thyrza (1870–1954)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200
accessed 8 Oct 2016
/ref> In 1913 Vachell's charity built what is now called the Guild Heritage Building in Bragg's Lane in Bristol. At the time it was called "The Guild of the Brave Poor Things". This red brick building was innovative as it featured ramps and wide doorways to ensure that it was accessible to people with disabilities. Vachell died in Clifton on 29 December 1923. The charity that she had created continued until 1987 when it sold off its property and became a trust. The building in Bragg's Lane was used by the local council until 2010 when it was sold. Two locals bought it and it is now fittingly the local headquarters of the NSPCC.Guild Heritage
Brave and Poor Ltd, Retrieved 8 October 2016

Legacy

Vachell had a plaque placed in Bristol Cathedral. There is also a blue plaque recording where she used to live at Clyde Road in Bristol. Records of the Bristol Guild of Brave Poor Things (and the later Guild of the Handicapped) are held at

Bristol Archives Bristol Archives (formerly Bristol Record Office) was established in 1924. It was the first borough record office in the United Kingdom, since at that time there was only one other local authority record office (Bedfordshire) in existence. It ...

(Ref. 39842)
online catalogue
.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vachell, Ada 1866 births 1923 deaths People from Cardiff Welsh activists Welsh women activists