Charis Ursula Frankenburg (née Barnett; 9 February 1892 – 5 April 1985) was a British author, one of the first women eligible for a degree from the University of Oxford, a founder of one of the first

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

clinics in England outside London, and a member of The Mutual Admiration Society.

Early life and education

Charis Barnett was born on 9 February 1892 in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

, London, the daughter of British educator Percy Barnett and his wife, Annie (née Beeching). After attending Bedales School, near Petersfield, and St Paul's Girls' School,

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, she began her studies at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

in 1912, where she met Dorothy L. Sayers, but was prevented from completing them by the outbreak of World War I. Instead she became a midwife and nurse, and worked in the maternity hospital of Châlons-sur-Marne. She was awarded a "war degree" from Oxford.

Charity activities

On 19 February 1918, she married Sydney Solomon Frankenburg (1881–1935), an army captain who was her cousin. They had four children. After they moved to near Salford, in the north-west of England, where his family business was located, Charis Frankenburg took up various local charitable roles. She became particularly active in the field of maternity care, focusing at first on the importance of midwives who had received adequate training. In 1922 she published ''Common Sense in the Nursery''. She became interested in educating working-class women about

methods, and in 1926 co-founded the Manchester, Salford and District Mothers' Clinic with her schoolfriend

Mary Stocks Mary Danvers Stocks, Baroness Stocks (née Brinton; 25 July 1891 – 6 July 1975) was a British writer. She was closely associated with the Strachey, the Wedgwood and the Ricardo families. Her family was deeply involved in changes in the Victoria ...

, after seeking advice from Marie Stopes. The clinic only served women who were already mothers. In 1938, a few years after being widowed, Frankenburg became a Salford

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 ...

, and worked in the juvenile court. She returned to London in the 1950s, retaining her Salford JP position. There she chaired the Public Health and Child Welfare Committee of the National Council of Women and also served as vice-chair of its Public Service and Magistrates Committee; in the early 1960s, the latter committee worked to reform laws on jury service so that all women could serve. She retired in 1967, and published her autobiography, ''Not Old, Madam, Vintage'' in 1975. She died on 5 April 1985 at Newbury,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

Bibliography

Her books include: *''Common Sense in the Nursery'' (1913) *''Latin with Laughter'' (1930) *''I'm All Right, Or, Spoilt Baby Into Angry Young Man'' (1960) *''Common Sense about Children: A Parents' Guide to Delinquency'' (1973) *''Not Old, Madam, Vintage: An Autobiography'' (1975)

Awards and honours

Her work in France during World War I was awarded the Médaille Commémorative de la Grand Guerre. In 1973, she was given the freedom of the city of Salford, for her work as a JP and for "service in field of health and social welfare".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frankenburg, Charis 1892 births 1985 deaths People from Isleworth 20th-century British writers 20th-century British women writers Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford People educated at Bedales School