Rachel and Margaret McMillan plaque, Bromley

Margaret McMillan (20 July 1860 – 27 March 1931) was a

nursery school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary schoo ...

pioneer and lobbied for the 1906 Provision of School Meals Act. Working in deprived districts of London, notably

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

, and Bradford, she agitated for reforms to improve the health of young children, wrote several books on nursery education and pioneered a play-centred approach that has only latterly found wide acceptance.

Biography

Margaret McMillan was born to James and Jean McMillan in Westchester County, New York, on 20 July 1860. Her parents were from Inverness but had emigrated to the United States in 1840. When she was four an epidemic of Scarlet fever killed her father and sister and left Margaret deaf (she recovered her hearing at the age of fourteen). Thereupon Mrs. McMillan returned to Scotland with her daughters Margaret and Rachel McMillan, where both attended the Inverness High School. McMillan's mother Jean McMillan died in 1877. McMillan went on to study Psychology and Physiology, followed by Languages and Music in Germany. In 1887 McMillan was introduced to Christian socialism and read articles by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

and

William Thomas Stead William Thomas Stead (5 July 184915 April 1912) was a British newspaper editor who, as a pioneer of investigative journalism, became a controversial figure of the Victorian era. Stead published a series of hugely influential campaigns whilst e ...

and after July 1888 joined her sister in London. Together they attended political meetings, where they met Morris, H. M. Hyndman, Peter Kropotkin, William Stead and Ben Tillett. In 1889, McMillan and her sister helped the workers during the London Dock Strike. In 1892 they moved to Bradford. There they joined the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...

, the Labour Church, the Social Democratic Federation and the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

(ILP). With Bradford's school medical officer, James Kerr, McMillan carried out the first medical inspection of elementary school children in Britain. They published a report and began a campaign for local authorities to install bathrooms, improve ventilation and supply free school meals for children, after seeing the success of Bradford Cinderella Club providing a warm meal to underprivileged children. In 1902 the sisters joined the recently formed Labour Party, working with

James Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. ...

and

George Lansbury George Lansbury (22 February 1859 – 7 May 1940) was a British politician and social reformer who led the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Apart from a brief period of ministerial office during the Labour government of 1929–31, he spe ...

. McMillan began to write books on health and education. In 1904 she published her most important books, ''Education Through the Imagination'' and ''The Economic Aspects of Child Labour and Education''. Through McMillan's work and joint campaigning with

Katharine Glasier Katharine Glasier (25 September 1867 – 14 June 1950) was an English socialist politician, journalist and novelist. She became a founder member of the Independent Labour Party in 1893. Early years Glasier was born in Stoke Newington as Kathar ...

, the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

passed the 1906 Provision of School Meals Act. In 1908 McMillan and her sister opened England's first school clinic at Bow followed by the Deptford Clinic in 1910. A ''Night Camp'' where slum children could wash and wear clean nightclothes followed. In ''The Child and the State'' published in 1911, McMillan argued that schools should be offering a broad and humane education instead of preparing children for unskilled, monotonous jobs. McMillan and her sister campaigned for

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stan ...

. McMillan was injured while protesting the way

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership an ...

members were treated in prison through the

Cat and Mouse Act The Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act, commonly referred to as the Cat and Mouse Act, was an Act of Parliament passed in Britain under H. H. Asquith's Liberal government in 1913. Some members of the Women's Social and Political ...

. In 1914 the sisters founded the Open-Air Nursery School & Training Centre in

for children from eighteen months to seven years and for adult trainees. McMillan invited personalities like

Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

and

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for a highly acclaimed selection of ...

to speak to audiences in Deptford. On 25 March 1917 her sister Rachel McMillan died. McMillan continued to run the Nursery, which she named the Rachel McMillan Open Air Nursery School after her sister. Margaret McMillan's nursery in Deptford was the first to receive

local education authorities Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

(LEAs) funding in 1917. In 1922 she was brought in touch with the work of

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...

through Prof Millicent Mackenzie and joined the initiative Educational Union for the Realization of Spiritual Values in Education, becoming one of the organisers and presiding over the 1923 conference in Ilkley where Steiner held the lecture cycle The New Art of Education. Steiner acknowledged the work McMillan was doing, referring to her as an educational genius in his subsequent report. McMillan visited Dornach in Switzerland and saw the first

Waldorf school Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical ...

. She remained connected with the work of

Anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritualist movement founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Follower ...

and assisted the growing Steiner school's movement. Later in life she became interested in the subject of nursing and established the Rachel McMillan College to train nurses and teachers in Deptford in May 1930. McMillan died in Harrow, London in 1931.

Legacy

The Rachel McMillan College, named after Margaret's sister, was founded in 1930 and merged with

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

in the 1970s, although student accommodation still exists in Creek Road, Deptford, bearing her name. In early May 1936 the Duke of York opene
Margaret McMillan House
The first purpose-built outdoor centre created in memory of Margaret McMillan. The centre is now part of the charity
Widehorizons
which delivers a range of adventure based activities. A memorial college to Margaret McMillan was opened in Bradford in 1952. An English Heritage blue plaque commemorates McMillan and her sister, Rachel, at 51 Tweedy Road in Bromley where they lodged. An award-winning park named after her stands on the site of what was once one of the most deprived streets in Deptford, as shown on the Poverty map published by

Charles Booth (social reformer) Charles James Booth (30 March 1840 – 23 November 1916) was a British shipowner, social researcher, Comtean positivist, and reformer, best known for his innovative philanthropic studies on working-class life in London towards the end o ...

Published work

* ''The Life of Rachel McMillan'' by Margaret McMillan. J.M. Dent and Sons, London (1927) * ''Education Through the Imagination'' by Margaret McMillan. BiblioBazaar (10 February 2009) * ''Early Childhood Education: A Series of Classic Readings'' by Margaret McMillan. Cosmo Publications (30 November 2008) * ''The Nursery School'' by Margaret McMillan. BiblioLife (10 Dec 2009) * ''Reflections on Contemporary Nursing'' by Judith Townsend and Margaret McMillan. Butterworth-Heinemann (17 July 1995) * * ''Child Labour and the Half-time System'' (Clarion pamphlet) by Margaret McMillan (1896) "Clarion" Newspaper Co (1896) ASIN B0008BN3JG * ''The Passing of Rudolf Steiner'' McMillan, Margaret. 1925 Article: Journal of Education and School World 57 (June): 392-393. *

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McMillan, Margaret 1860 births 1931 deaths People from Westchester County, New York British Christian socialists British educators Government-provided school meals in the United Kingdom Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Members of London County Council People from Harrow, London Anthroposophists Female Christian socialists Women councillors in England

Biography

Legacy

Published work

Further reading

References

External links