Laura Elizabeth McLaren, Baroness Aberconway

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, DStJ (née Pochin; 14 May 1854 – 4 January 1933) was a British suffragist, author and horticulturalist.

Life

Her birth was registered in the Salford district of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

on 14 May 1854. She was the daughter of Henry Davis Pochin, a noted industrialist and chemist, and his wife, Agnes (''née'' Heap), a leading women's rights activist. She married the journalist and Liberal MP Charles McLaren, a business associate of her father's, at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

on 6 March 1877. Charles McLaren was later created Baron Aberconway. They had four children. Laura McLaren's two sons became Liberal MP's, Henry D. McLaren for the West Staffordshire constituency and,

Francis McLaren Francis Walter Stafford McLaren (16 June 1886 – 30 August 1917) was a British Member of Parliament killed in the First World War in a flying accident. Career A younger son of Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway, he attended Eton and Bal ...

for the Spalding constituency in Lincolnshire. Francis married Barbara Jekyll, a niece of the famous garden designer

Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British Horticulture, horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United Sta ...

. He was killed in a flying accident in 1917. Her daughter

Priscilla Priscilla is an English female given name adopted from Latin '' Prisca'', derived from ''priscus''. There is a theory that this biblical character was the author of the Letter to the Hebrews. The name first appears in the New Testament either ...

, also a noted activist and suffragist, married Sir Henry Norman and, with him, developed gardens at Ramster Hall, Surrey. Laura's other daughter, Elsie Dorothea, married Sir Edward Johnson-Ferguson, 2nd Baronet. Baroness Aberconway was a campaigner for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

, founding the Liberal Women's Suffrage Union and publishing some writings on the subject. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she converted her house in London into a hospital and helped run it. She died in 1933 at her home, Château de la Garoupe, on the Cap d’Antibes.

Awards and honors

In 1918, Aberconway was appointed

. She was also appointed Dame of Grace of the Venerable Order of St John.

Other

Outside politics Aberconway was a talented artist and horticulturalist. She and her husband worked to expand and improve the

Bodnant Garden Bodnant Garden () is a National Trust property near Tal-y-Cafn, Conwy, Wales, overlooking the Conwy valley towards the Carneddau mountains. Founded in 1874 and developed by five generations of one family, it was given to the National Trust in ...

begun by her father. Château de la Garoupe is hailed for its beautiful garden. Lady Aberconway also developed the

topiary Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants w ...

terraces at Golden Grove, Llanasa, another house in North Wales owned by her father.

Writings

* ''The Women's Charter of Rights and Liberties.'' London, John Sewell, 1909. * ''The Prime Minister and Women's Suffrage'' London, John Sewell, 1913.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aberconway, Laura MacLaren, Baroness 1854 births 1933 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Dames of Grace of the Order of St John English gardeners British suffragists British baronesses Laura Victoria Medal of Honour recipients People from Salford