Enid Anne Hattersley (''née'' Brackenbury; previously O'Hara; 19 September 1904 – 17 May 2001) was a Labour Party politician from

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

, England, who became the city's Lord Mayor in 1981.

Early years

Hattersley was born in

Shirebrook Shirebrook is a town in the Bolsover district in Derbyshire, England. Close to the boundaries with the districts of Mansfield and Bassetlaw of Nottinghamshire,OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): it had a population of 13,300 in ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, the daughter of a coal merchant. She was a Labour Party activist from an early age, securing her membership card at the age of 14. She managed the household for her invalid mother until she married her first husband, a miner named John O'Hara. When she was 27, Father Frederick Hattersley (known as Roy, his second name), a Roman Catholic priest who was possibly from a

recusant Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

family came to order the winter's coal for his presbytery. They fell in love in spite of his clerical vocation.Enid Hattersley obituary in ''The Telegraph''
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Marriage

Once widowed when her first husband died, Enid O'Hara married Frederick Hattersley, who had left his vocation as a Catholic priest to maintain a relationship with her. By 1932 they had moved to

. Their only son would become the noted Labour Party politician, writer and life peer Lord Hattersley of Sparkbrook. Frederick Hattersley died in 1973.

Political career

She spent some two decades on Sheffield's Libraries and Arts Committee (as Chair from 1968 to 1980). She also served four years on

South Yorkshire County Council The South Yorkshire County Council (SYCC) — also known as South Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council — was the top-tier local government authority for the metropolitan county of South Yorkshire from 1 April 1974 to 31 March 1986. A strategic ...

and was chairperson of governing Sheffield's first comprehensive school. She oversaw the creation of the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

in Sheffield. In 1979, as chairman of the Yorkshire Museums Service, she helped persuade the fiscally struggling nearby

Kirklees Council Kirklees Council is the local authority providing most local government services for the borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council and one of five constituent councils of the West Yorkshire Combined Aut ...

not to sell off artwork by

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

and Henry Moore. In 1981, she was installed as

Lord Mayor of Sheffield The Lord Mayor of Sheffield is a ceremonial post held by a member of Sheffield City Council. They are elected annually by the council. The post originated in 1843, with the appointment of William Jeffcock as the first Mayor of Sheffield. E ...

Falklands War

She would help rally the city when sank during the 1982 Falklands War and she led memorials and fund-raising for the families of those killed and wounded. The Ministry of Defence set up in response its own South Atlantic Fund.Enid Hattersley obituary in ''The Guardian''
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Legacy

She was credited by ''The Telegraph'' for her contributions to Sheffield, specifically by helping "turn the city from one of England's grimiest cities into a modern industrial centre …as chairman of the Libraries and Arts Committee, she developed the city's museums and art galleries to the point where they gained an international reputation".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hattersley, Enid 1904 births 2001 deaths English activists English women activists Lord Mayors of Sheffield People from Shirebrook Labour Party (UK) councillors Women councillors in England Women mayors of places in England