Sophia Lonsdale (1852-1936) was a British philanthropist and social activist.

Life

Lonsdale was the daughter of John Gylby, canon of Lichfield and Sarah Martineau, née Jardine. Her elder sister, Margaret Lonsdale, would be a nurse and writer. She was also the granddaughter of Anglican bishop

John Lonsdale John Lonsdale (17 January 1788 – 19 October 1867) was an English clergyman, who was the third Principal of King's College, London, and later served as Bishop of Lichfield. He was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, an ...

. A vocal anti-suffragist, Lonsdale's name appeared on the list of signatories to "A Woman's Protest Against Female Suffrage" published in ''

The Nineteenth Century ''The Nineteenth Century'' was a British monthly literary magazine founded in 1877 by James Knowles. It is regarded by historians as 'one of the most important and distinguished monthlies of serious thought in the last quarter of the nineteent ...

'' in 1889. Lonsdale was an early organizing member of the

Women's National Anti-Suffrage League The Women's National Anti-Suffrage League (1908–18) was established in London on 21 July 1908. Its aims were to oppose women being granted the vote in parliamentary elections, although it did support their having votes in local government ele ...

and part of the group's executive committee together with

Mary Ward Mary Ward may refer to: Scientists and academics * Mary Ward (nurse) (1884–1972) English nurse to the boat people on the waterways * Mary Ward (scientist) (née King, 1827–1869) Irish amateur scientist, was killed by an experimental steam car ...

. Her letter published in ''The Times'' in 1907 encouraged readers to sign a petition against the woman's vote, which was presented to Parliament after collecting 37,000 signatures. In 1892, Lonsdale opened a girls' high school in Lichfield which would eventually become The Friary School. Much of her work focused on

poor relief In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

, as a member of the

Charity Organization Society The Charity Organisation Societies were founded in England in 1869 following the ' Goschen Minute' that sought to severely restrict outdoor relief distributed by the Poor Law Guardians. In the early 1870s a handful of local societies were formed w ...

and

board of guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the po ...

member of the

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. Lonsdale published ''The English Poor Laws: Their History, Principles, and Administration'' in 1902. She wrote the introduction to ''The Slippery Slope, and Other Papers on Social Subjects'' by William Amias Bailward, published in 1920. Her memoirs, ''The Recollections of Sophia Lonsdale'', were edited by her cousin Violet Martineau (1865-1948) and published in 1936.

References

{{Authority control 1852 births 1936 deaths Anti-suffragists School founders