Alice Schofield or Alice Schofield Coates (3 May 1881 – 19 June 1975)Martin, David E. Saville, John; Bellamy, Joyce M. (1993). ''Dictionary of Labour Biography, Volume IX''. Palgrave. pp. 39-42. was a British suffragette and politician. She campaigned for women to have the vote and later campaigned for the legislation to give women rights to equal pay.

Life

Schofield was born in Cleveland, but her family was poor and she was brought up by an uncle and aunt in Manchester. She was not religious and she was a vegetarian. She trained as a teacher with

Teresa Billington Teresa Billington-Greig (15 October 1876 – 21 October 1964) was a British suffragette who helped create the Women's Freedom League in 1907. She had left another suffrage organisation – the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) – as s ...

who was also not religious. Schofield met

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 ...

at a disciplinary hearing after Schofield refused to teach about religion. Other accounts say that she met Pankhurst at a speech. However Pankhurst was a member of the Manchester Education committee and she arranged for Schofield to start work at a Jewish school where religious instruction was not legally required. She and Teresa Billington joined the Independent Labour Party and both went to join Pankhurst's Women's Social and Political Union. She met Eva Gore-Booth and

Esther Roper Esther Roper (4 August 1868 – 28 April 1938) was an Irish-English suffragist and social justice campaigner who fought for equal employment and voting rights for working-class women. Early life and education Esther Roper was born near Chorley ...

and she was enthusiastic about women's suffrage but not about the WSPU. Like many members she was alarmed by the autocratic manner of Emmeline and

Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bord ...

. In 1907 the breakaway group of the

Women's Freedom League The Women's Freedom League was an organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigned for women's suffrage and sexual equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access ...

was formed with more of a democratic approach. The new league included Charlotte Despard, Teresa Billington and Schofield. Schofield was employed as a full time official. The league was also militant, but it objected to the extreme measures encouraged by the Pankhursts WSPU which included arson. In 1909 she was based in Middlesbrough where a brother of another WFL member came to her rescue. He was Charles Coates and they married in February 1910. Coates had a good income from importing coal and they employed servants who taught and looked after their three children. Schofield was thus able to trave on speaking tours to

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

or into Scotland on WFL business and she made frequent trips to London to attend WGL meetings where she was on the executive committee. She used the name Alice Schofield Coates. Coates and her husband operated a vegetarian restaurant on Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough. In 1919 Schofield stood as the first woman councillor in Middlesbrough. In 1924 her husband's business ceased to be profitable. Schofield continued to support the Labour Party and she became 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 ...

. At the end of her career she campaigned for women to have the right to equal pay. The legislation was passed in 1970. Schofield died in 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schofield, Alice 1881 births 1975 deaths British suffragists British vegetarianism activists People from Redcar and Cleveland