Alice Cliff Scatcherd (1842–1906) was an early British

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

who in 1889 founded the

Women's Franchise League The Women's Franchise League was a British organisation created by the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst together with her husband Richard and others in 1889, fourteen years before the creation of the Women's Social and Political Union in 1903. The Pr ...

,Holton, Stanley (2002), ''Suffrage Days: Stories from the Women's Suffrage Movement'', Routledge, with

Harriet McIlquham Harriet McIlquham ( Medley; 8 August 1837 – 24 January 1910), also seen as Harriett McIlquham, was an English suffragist. Early life Harriet Medley was born in Brick Lane, London, the daughter of Edward Medley (a baker) and Harriet Sanders Medle ...

, Ursula Bright,

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...

Richard Pankhurst Richard Marsden Pankhurst (1834 – 5 July 1898) was an English barrister and socialist who was a strong supporter of women's rights. Early life Richard Pankhurst was the son of Henry Francis Pankhurst (1806–1873) and Margaret Marsden (180 ...

and

Elizabeth Clarke Wolstenholme Elmy Elizabeth Clarke Wolstenholme-Elmy (died 12 March 1918) was a life-long campaigner and organiser, significant in the history of women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. She wrote essays and some poetry, using the pseudonyms E and Ignota. Early ...

. Scatcherd was born in Wortley and was a lifelong campaigner for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

who lived much of her life in

Morley, West Yorkshire Morley is a market town and a civil parish within the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, in West Yorkshire, England. Morley is the largest town in the Borough of Leeds after Leeds itself. Morley forms part of the Heavy Woollen District. It l ...

including in Morley Hall.

Suffragist career

She was secretary for the

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

branch of the

National Society for Women's Suffrage The National Society for Women's Suffrage Manchester Branch The National Society for Women's Suffrage was the first national group in the United Kingdom to campaign for women's right to vote. Formed on 6 November 1867, by Lydia Becker, the organis ...

(NSWS). Scatcherd was active in speaking out at events in the 1870s as typified by an example on 24 March 1877, when she appeared alongside

Lydia Becker Lydia Ernestine Becker (24 February 1827 – 18 July 1890) was a leader in the early British suffrage movement, as well as an amateur scientist with interests in biology and astronomy. She established Manchester as a centre for the suffrage mov ...

and other early suffragettes to discuss women's access to the vote in

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

. The chairman, J. W. White, addressed the meeting saying that ''"it appeared somewhat strange that whereas the British Parliament had been engaged from time to time for many years back in conferring rights and removing disabilities, there should still exist any large and intelligent section of society outside the electoral community. They had not yet found any good reason given for excluding from parliamentary suffrage women who had already voted in municipal and school board elections; therefore they intended to reiterate their demands until they were conceded"''. Scatcherd was supported by

Henry Birchenough Sir John Henry Birchenough, 1st Baronet, (7 March 1853 – 12 May 1937) was an English businessman and public servant. Early life and education Birchenough was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, the second son of John Birchenough, a silk manufac ...

in seconding the first resolution which was moved by Joshua Oldfield Nicholson. The Alice Cliff Scatcherd scrapboo
(SCAT B SCA)
comprises letters, photographs and letterpress relating to the national suffrage campaign, politics, education and Morley civic life and is held at Leeds Central Library. 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 ...

to commemorate Scatcherd is to be unveiled on 2 August 2022 her former home, Park House, Queen Street, Morley (now a funeral directors'). It carries the words "This champion of women's education, trade unionism and suffrage, who established the Morley District Nurses Association, lived here. She was a founder member of the Women's Franchise League, established in 1889. As a philanthropist, she donated Scatcherd Park to the people of Morley. 1842 - 1906".

Family

Alice Cliff was born in 1842 to Joseph and Alice Cliff. According to the 1851 census the family lived in Wortley, Leeds and Scatcherd had three brothers and three sisters. Alice Cliff married Oliver Scatcherd on 3 October 1871 in Morley.Ancestry.com. ''West Yorkshire, Non-Conformist Records, 1646-1985'' atabase on-line Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. He was a solicitor and lived in Morley House at the time of his marriage. Scatcherd was critical of the existing nature of marriage and refused to attend

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

services in

established church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

es where women took a

vow of obedience In the Catholic Church, the vow of obedience is one of the three vows of professing to live according to the evangelical counsels. It forms part of the religious vows that are made both by members of the religious institutes and diocesan hermits. ...

to men. She is said to have shocked late 19th Century conservative society by travelling Europe with her husband without a

wedding ring A wedding ring or wedding band is a finger ring that indicates that its wearer is married. It is usually forged from metal, traditionally gold or another precious metal. Rings were used in ancient Rome during marriage, though the modern pract ...

. Scatcherd is buried in the Scatcherd Mausoleum in St Mary in the Wood

churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...

Morley Morley may refer to: Places England * Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish * Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish * Morley, Cheshire, a village * Morley, County Durham, a village * Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish * M ...

References

External links

* http://www.mmtrust.org.uk/mausolea/view/220/Scatcherd_Mausoleum Scatcherd Mausoleum * http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/e2d61b0c-a8ea-418a-ab9c-55f3033b2055 Scatcherd Collection, Morley Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Scatcherd, Alice Cliff English suffragists People from Morley, West Yorkshire 1842 births 1906 deaths