Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
and promoter of local
cottage industry
The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote ...
.
Life
Harriet Bagwell was born Harriet Philippa Jocelyn Newton around 1853 in Dunleckney Manor, Bagenalstown, County Carlow. She was the eldest child of Phillip Jocelyn Newton (1818–1895) and his wife Emily (d. 1886). She married
Richard Bagwell
Richard Bagwell (9 December 1840 – 4 December 1918) was a noted historian of the Stuart and Tudor periods in Ireland, and a political commentator with strong Unionist convictions.
He was the eldest son of John Bagwell, M.P. for Clonmel from ...
on 9 December 1873. The couple had one son, John Philip, and three daughters, Emily Georgiana, Margaret and Lilla Minnie. For the first part of their marriage the family lived in Innislonagh, moving to the family estate at Marlfield House, Clonmel, County Tipperary in 1884. After this move, Bagwell became active in local charitable concerns. Her mother-in-law, Frances Bagwell (née Prittie), had founded a school for Swiss embroidery, and it is possible that this inspired Bagwell to found her own
embroidery
Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...
cottage industry at Marlfield in 1885. The aim of this was to enable women to work in their own homes to earn extra income. Bagwell provided these women with raw materials and designs, and organised their payment and sale of the produce. The designs were adapted from Egyptian and Indian artwork. The resulting Marlfield Embroideries was a success, and generated a great deal of income for the local community. Work from the Embroideries were exhibited at a number of shows, including the
Royal Dublin Society
The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...
's stand at the 1887
Royal Jubilee Exhibition
The Royal Jubilee Exhibition of 1887 was held in Old Trafford, Manchester, England, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria's accession. It was opened by Princess Alexandra, the Princess of Wales (wife of the Prince of Wales, later Ed ...
in Manchester, and the 1897 Lancaster Arts and Craft Exhibition. Bagwell's older half-sister from her father's first marriage, Mrs Anne Vesey, founded the Dunleckney Cottage Embroidery in 1889 and was modelled on Marlfield.
Bagwell also established a society which provided penny meals to local people living in poverty, along with a registry office for servants. With her daughters, they created a cookery school for national school girls around 1900. In 1895 Bagwell founded the Clonmel Cottage Hospital, helped in the promotion of the District Nursing Association, and served as an executive committee member of the
Women's National Health Association
The Women's National Health Association (WNHA) was a body set up in Ireland in 1907 with the objective of eliminating, as far as possible, the scourge of tuberculosis, and to bring about a reduction in the high infant mortality rates in Ireland.
...
. After she was widowed in 1918, she left Marlfield in 1920, moving to Dangan,
Carrickmines
Carrickmines () is an outer suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The area, still semi-rural, was historically on the border of English control and featured a defensive construction, Carrickmines Castle, which became the subjec ...
, County Dublin. During this time she compiled an informal history of the Bagwells for the family. This history included accounts of the burning of Marlfield House in 1923 by republicans. She died at the home of her young daughter, Lilla Minnie,
Birdhill
Birdhill ()Placenames Database of Ireland (see archival records) is a village in