Violet Hardisty Grantham (15 February 1893 – 20 May 1983) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

politician, the first woman to serve as Sheriff of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and

Lord Mayor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne This is a list of mayors and the later lord mayors of the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the United Kingdom. Newcastle had elected a mayor annually since 1216. The city was awarded the dignity of a lord mayoralty by letters patent dated 27 Ju ...

. Born Violet Hardisty Taylor in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

on 15 February 1893, the second of three children born to Thomas Taylor, a

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled after B ...

at St Cuthbert's High School, and Sarah Taylor (née McKelvie), formerly a

pupil-teacher Pupil teacher was a training program in wide use before the twentieth century, as an apprentice system for teachers. With the emergence in the beginning of the nineteenth century of education for the masses, demand for teachers increased. By 1840, ...

. She was educated privately and married John Grantham in 1924. Her husband, a cinema proprietor, was elected to

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...

in 1912, later holding the titles of Sheriff of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1924-1925 and

in 1936-37 respectively. In addition to being his Lady Mayoress, Violet served on the boards of a number of local organisations and in 1937 she was elected to Newcastle City Council in her own right, representing the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. In 1950 she became the first woman to serve as Sheriff of Newcastle-upon-Tyne later being elected as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of Newcastle City Council in 1952, being the first woman elected to serve as Lord Mayor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In 1956, Violet briefly held this post again due to the death of Aaron Curry. She again became an elected councillor in 1958 and was granted Honorary Freedom of the City in 1966, serving until the reorganisation of local government in 1974, when she retired.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grantham, Violet 1893 births 1983 deaths Conservative Party (UK) councillors Mayors of Newcastle upon Tyne Women councillors in England Women mayors of places in England