Anne Frances Ashworth (1842 – 1921) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

activist. Ashworth grew up in a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

family in

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

. Her father, Thomas Ashworth, was a friend of

Richard Cobden Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty. As a you ...

, while

Jacob Bright The Rt Hon. Jacob Bright (26 May 1821 – 7 November 1899) was a British Liberal politician serving as Mayor of Rochdale and later Member of Parliament for Manchester. Background Bright was born at Green Bank near Rochdale, Lancashire. He wa ...

and

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn La ...

were her uncles, all liberals with an interest in feminism. Together with her sister, Lilias, Anne signed the 1866 petition for women's suffrage. A founder member of the London National Society for Women's Suffrage, on the request of

Clementia Taylor Clementia Taylor ( née Doughty; 17 December 1810 – 11 April 1908) was an English women's rights activist and radical.''ODNB''. Life Clementia (known as Mentia to her friends) was born in Brockdish, Norfolk, one of twelve children. Her family ...

, Anne and Lilias formed a Bath branch of the group. Anne served on its executive committee, and when the Central Committee 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 ...

was set up in 1872, Anne also sat on its executive.Elizabeth Crawford, ''The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866-1928'', pp.20-21 In 1871, the first elections were held to the Bath School Board, and Ashworth was elected, one of only seven women around the country to win a seat at the initial elections.Patricia Hollis, ''Ladies Elect: Women in English Local Government 1865-1914'', p.132 From 1873, she sat on the executive of the Married Women's Property Committee, and she also held membership of the

Edinburgh National Society for Women's Suffrage The Edinburgh National Society for Women's Suffrage was a leading group for women's rights in Scotland. It was one of the first three suffrage societies to be formed in Britain. History The Edinburgh Ladies' Emancipation Society was at one time ...

and the Bristol and West of England Society. She did not address meetings, but supported the groups organisationally, financially, and by providing her home, Claverton Lodge, for speakers to rest after they had completed a tour. Ashworth married Joseph Cross, brother of Liberal MP

John Kynaston Cross John Kynaston Cross (13 October 1832 – 20 March 1887), was a British cotton spinner and Liberal Party politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for India under William Gladstone from 1883 to 1885. Background Cross was the second of t ...

, in 1877. They moved to Cross' house in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

, and Ashworth joined the

Manchester Society for Women's Suffrage The Manchester Society for Women's Suffrage, whose aim was to obtain the same rights for women to vote for Members of Parliament as those granted to men, was formed at a meeting in Manchester in January 1867. Elizabeth Wolstenholme claimed it had b ...

, serving on its executive, remaining a vice-president of the group as late as 1907.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashworth, Anne 1842 births 1921 deaths English feminists English Quakers English suffragists People from Bath, Somerset Quaker feminists