Eleanor Georgiana Shelley-Rolls (9 October 1872 – 15 September 1961) was one of the original signatories of the

Women's Engineering Society The Women's Engineering Society is a United Kingdom professional learned society and networking body for women engineers, scientists and technologists. It was the first professional body set up for women working in all areas of engineering, pred ...

founding documents. She was a keen hot air balloonist.

Early life

Rolls was born in

Mayfair, London Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...

in 1872. She was the daughter of John Allan Rolls, 1st Baron Llangattock and Georgiana Marcia Maclean. Her three brothers,

Charles Rolls Charles Stewart Rolls (27 August 1877 – 12 July 1910) was a British motoring and aviation pioneer. With Henry Royce, he co-founded the Rolls-Royce car manufacturing firm. He was the first Briton to be killed in an aeronautical accident with ...

John Maclean Rolls John Maclean Rolls, 2nd Baron Llangattock (25 April 1870 – 31 October 1916) was a British barrister and army Major. Biography Rolls was son of John Rolls, 1st Baron Llangattock, and his wife Georgiana Marcia Maclean. He was born in London, b ...

and Henry Allan Rolls all predeceased her, dying without issue, so she inherited the family estate

The Hendre The Hendre, ( cy, Yr Hendre a farmer's winter residence; literally meaning old home) in Rockfield, is the only full-scale Victorian country house in the county of Monmouthshire, Wales. The ancestral estate of the Rolls family, it was the child ...

, near

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

Career

Rolls married John Courtown Edward Shelley in 1898, they both changed their surname legally to Shelley-Rolls in 1917 when she inherited the family estate at

on the death of her brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, 2nd Baron Llangattock in 1916. Before World War One, she and her husband flew in hot air balloons, often sharing a flight with

May Assheton Harbord May Constance Assheton Harbord (6 June 1866 - 7 February 1928), was the first woman to obtain an Aeronaut's Certificate in the United Kingdom, in 1912. Early life May Constance Cuningham was born in Simla, India on 6 June 1866 the daughter of ...

, the first woman to hold an Aeronaut's Certificate in UK. The couple in one of the earliest Zeppelins, and in an early type of aeroplane in the pre war years. On 23 June 1919, she became one of the seven co-signatures of the Memorandum of Association for the formation of the

alongside Rachel Parsons; Lady Katharine Parsons;

Janetta Mary Ornsby Janetta may refer to: *Janetta Rebold Benton, American art historian *Janetta Douglas, née Smith, MBE, Papua New Guinean charity worker * Janetta Gillespie (1876–1956), Scottish artist * Janetta Johnson (born 1964), African-American transgender ...

; Margaret Rowbotham;

Margaret, Lady Moir Margaret, Lady Moir, OBE (née Margaret Bruce Pennycook) (10 January 18645 October 1942) was a Scottish lathe operator, engineer, a workers' relief organiser, an employment campaigner, and a founder member of the Women's Engineering Society (W ...

and

Laura Annie Willson Laura Annie Willson Order of the British Empire, MBE (née Buckley) (15 August 1877 – 17 April 1942) was an English engineer and suffragette, who was twice imprisoned for her political activities. She was one of the founding members of the Wo ...

. With

Margaret Partridge Margaret Mary Partridge (8 April 1891 – 27 October 1967) was an electrical engineer, contractor and founder member of the Women's Engineering Society (WES) and the Electrical Association for Women (EAW). Her business worked with WES to identif ...

, Shelley-Rolls canvassed support for electrification of Britain. She attended the first statutory meeting of the

in 1920. She remained on the

Advisory Council, was part of the Women's Engineering Society's 1925

Conference of Women A conference is a meeting of two or more Expert, experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the ...

. She acted as the

's representative on the

Electrical Association for Women The Electrical Association for Women (EAW) was a feminist and educational organisation founded in Great Britain in 1924 to promote the benefits of electricity in the home. History The Electrical Association for Women developed in 1924 from a p ...

board. She was a member of the Council Industrial Co-partnership, a member of the

Air League The Air League is an aviation and aerospace non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest provider of aviation and aerospace scholarships and bursaries. The Air League aims to inspire, enable, and support the next ...

and the Executive League of Empire. She was also President of the

Women's Pioneer Housing Women's Pioneer Housing is a British housing association founded in 1920, the first dedicated to housing single women. History Women's Pioneer Housing was founded in 1920, to help provide housing for the new generation of single, professional wom ...

, and a school manager. She studied and wrote about the history of motoring and in later life took up breeding of

Welsh Black Cattle The Welsh Black is a dual-purpose breed of cattle native to Wales. This breed is one of the oldest in Britain, going back to pre-Roman times. The Welsh Black was a prized possession of Britain's people upon the invasion of the Saxons. History ...

. In 1920, she founded Atlanta Co Ltd, Loughborough, with

Katharine Parsons Katharine, Lady Parsons ( Bethell; 1859 – 16 October 1933) was the co-founder and second President of the Women's Engineering Society (WES), and an engineer in her own right. Partnership with Charles Parsons Born to William Frogatt Bethell ...

. ''Atlanta Co Ltd'' only employed women, including Annette Ashberry. She was the main beneficiary of

Baron Llangattock Baron Llangattock, "of the Hendre in the County of Monmouth", was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1892 for John Rolls, of The Hendre in the parish of Llangattock-Vibon-Avel, about 4 miles north-west of Monmouth, ...

's £1.1 million estate. She died on 15 September 1961.Find a will
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelley-Rolls, Eleanor 1872 births 1961 deaths British women's rights activists British women engineers Women's Engineering Society

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

Daughters of barons Wives of baronets