Clementia Taylor (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

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 Brockdish is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England. The village is situated on the River Waveney (south of which is Suffolk), and is about 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Harleston. History Brockdish's ...

, Norfolk, one of twelve children. Her family was Unitarian, and Clementia became the governess to the daughters of a Unitarian minister who ran a boys' boarding school at Hove. In 1842 Clementia married

Peter Alfred Taylor Peter Alfred Taylor (30 July 1819 – 20 December 1891) was a British politician, anti-vaccinationist and radical. Biography Taylor was born in London. He was the son of another Peter Alfred Taylor, a silk merchant, and the nephew of Samuel ...

, the cousin of her pupils. Taylor was later the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. In 1863, Peter Taylor bought

Aubrey House Aubrey House is a large 18th-century detached house with two acres of gardens in the Campden Hill area of Holland Park in west London, W8. It is a private residence. Known for a long time as Notting Hill House, by the 1860s it had been named ...

in the

Campden Hill Campden Hill is a hill in Kensington, West London, bounded by Holland Park Avenue on the north, Kensington High Street on the south, Kensington Palace Gardens on the east and Abbotsbury Road on the west. The name derives from the former ''Campde ...

district of

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that contains a street and public park of the same name. It has no official boundaries but is roughly bounded by Kensington High Street to the south, Holland Road ...

in West London. The Taylors opened the Aubrey Institute in the grounds of the house; the institute gave young people the chance to improve a poor education they might have had. The lending library and reading room of the institute had over 500 books. Taylor,

Mary Estlin Mary Anne Estlin (31 July 1820 – 14 November 1902) was a British abolitionist and leading figure in anti-slavery and anti-prostitution campaigns in Britain. Life Mary Anne Estlin (31 Jul 1820-14 Nov 1902) was the daughter of John Bishop Estli ...

and

Eliza Wigham Eliza Wigham (23 February 1820 – 3 November 1899), born Elizabeth Wigham, was a Scottish campaigner for women's suffrage, anti-slavery, peace and temperance in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was involved in several major campaigns to improve women's r ...

were active in anti-slavery movement in England and in 1863 they all served on

Ladies' London Emancipation Society The Ladies' London Emancipation Society was an activist abolitionist group founded in 1863, which disseminated anti-slavery material to advance British understanding of the Union cause in the American Civil War as one pertaining to morality rather ...

which Taylor led. The Taylors were also closely involved in the movement for

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

and

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...

was a frequent visitor to Aubrey House. During his celebrated 1864 visit to London, a reception was held at Aubrey House for

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

and after Garibaldi visited Mazzini. Noted radical figures at the reception included feminist Emilie Ashurst Venturi;

Aurelio Saffi Aurelio Saffi (August 13, 1819 – April 10, 1890: full name Marco Aurelio Saffi) was a Roman and Italian politician, active during the period of Italian unification. He was an important figure in the radical republican current within the Risorgi ...

Karl Blind Karl Blind (4 September 1826, Mannheim – 31 May 1907, London) was a German revolutionist and writer on politics, history, mythology and German literature. Biography While a student at Heidelberg, he was imprisoned for his revolutionary activ ...

Ferdinand Freiligrath Ferdinand Freiligrath (17 June 1810 – 18 March 1876) was a German poet, translator and liberal agitator, who is considered part of the Young Germany movement. Life Freiligrath was born in Detmold, Principality of Lippe. His father was a teacher. ...

Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin (; 2 February 1807 – 31 December 1874) was a French lawyer, politician and one of the leaders of the French Revolution of 1848. Youth The grandson of Nicolas Philippe Ledru, the celebrated quack doctor known ...

and

Louis Blanc Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc (; ; 29 October 1811 – 6 December 1882) was a French politician and historian. A socialist who favored reforms, he called for the creation of cooperatives in order to guarantee employment for the urban poor. Alth ...

. In

Moncure D. Conway Moncure Daniel Conway (March 17, 1832 – November 15, 1907) was an American abolitionist minister and radical writer. At various times Methodist, Unitarian, and a Freethinker, he descended from patriotic and patrician families of Virginia and ...

's autobiography he describes the Taylor's

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

at Aubrey House, and Clementia's "Pen and Pencil Club" at which the work of young writers and artists was read and exhibited. Conway, an American abolitionist and clergyman, moved to Notting Hill to be near the Taylors at Aubrey House. The Taylor's social gatherings were also noted by the American author

Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known as the author of the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Little Men'' (1871) and ''Jo's Boys'' (1886). Raised in ...

. Attendees of the "Pen and Pencil Club" included the diarist

Arthur Munby Arthur Joseph Munby (19 August 1828 – 29 January 1910) was a British diarist, poet, portrait photographer, barrister and solicitor. He is also known by his initials, A. J. Munby. Munby in Victorian Society The Victorian Era (1837-1901) was a ...

, and many poets and authors who later achieved fame. Aubrey House was also visited by feminists

Barbara Bodichon Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (born Barbara Leigh Smith; 8 April 1827 – 11 June 1891) was an English educationalist and artist, and a leading mid-19th-century feminist and women's rights activist. She published her influential ''Brief Summary ...

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 ...

Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was a British physician, notable as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Ki ...

, and

Elizabeth Malleson Elizabeth Malleson (''née'' Whitehead; 1828–1916) was an English educationalist, suffragist and activist for women's education and rural nursing. Life Elizabeth Whitehead was born into a Unitarian family in Chelsea, Malleson was the first chil ...

.''MunODNB''. Clementia Taylor was on the organizing committee of the 1866 petition in favour of women's suffrage that

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

presented to the British parliament; the 1499 signatures were collated in Aubrey House. It was in the house that the Committee of the London

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 ...

, held its first meeting in July 1867. In 1873, the Taylors sold Aubrey House due to Peter's ill health, established an apartment near parliament house for when the Commons sat, and moved to Brighton. Mentia Taylor died in Brighton in 1908.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *; cited as ''ODNB''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Clementia 1810 births 1908 deaths People from South Norfolk (district) English suffragists English Unitarians People from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea People from Brighton