Mary Danvers Stocks, Baroness Stocks (née Brinton; 25 July 1891 – 6 July 1975) was a British

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

. She was closely associated with the

Strachey The Strachey family originated in Saffron Walden, Essex, England. By the mid-1600s, they were based at Sutton Court in Stowey, Somerset, England. Strachey family * William Strachey the English writer ** William Strachey (c. 1596/97–1635) ** ...

, the

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English China (material), fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons L ...

and the Ricardo families. Her family was deeply involved in changes in the

Victorian Era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

and Stocks herself was deeply involved in

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 ...

, the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...

, and other aspects of social work.Majority of detail taken from a book called ''My Commonplace Book'' published by Peter Davies

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

1971 reprint of the first 1970 edition with an

Early and personal life

Stocks was born in London, the daughter of a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

, Roland Danvers Brinton. Politicians

Tim Brinton Timothy Denis Brinton (24 December 1929 – 22 March 2009) was a British broadcaster and Conservative Party politician. The son of a neurologist, he was educated at Summer Fields School in Summertown, Oxford, followed by Eton College and the U ...

and Sal Brinton, Baroness Brinton are cousins of Stocks. Her mother Constance (née Rendel) was related to Elinor Strachey (1859–1944), who married Constance's brother James Rendel, as well thereby to Philippa Strachey and her more famous brother Lytton. She attended

St Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is a private day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in west London, England. The school is included in The Schools Index as one of the world's 150 best private schools and among top ...

. She campaigned for

, and joined

Millicent Fawcett Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (; 11 June 1847 – 5 August 1929) was an English political activist and writer. She campaigned for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, women's suffrage by Law reform, legal change and in 1897–1919 led Brita ...

's moderate

National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In March 1919 it w ...

(NUWSS) which later became the National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship (NUSEC). She attended the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(LSE), graduating in 1913 with a first-class degree in economics. She married the philosopher

John Leofric Stocks John Leofric Stocks DSO (26 October 1882 – 13 June 1937) was a British philosopher and was briefly Vice Chancellor of the University of Liverpool in 1937. Biography Stocks was born the sixth of twelve children to John Edward Stocks, the vicar ...

in December 1913. He was a fellow of

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

. They had one son and two daughters.

Career

During the First World War, Mary Stocks taught at the LSE and

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, while her husband served with in France with the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

; he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

. She was a member of the NUWSS committee; she campaigned for

family allowance Child benefit or children's allowance is a social security payment which is distributed to the parents or guardians of children, teenagers and in some cases, young adult (psychology), young adults. Countries operate different versions of the benefi ...

s (finally granted in 1945) and for

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

; she was also an editor of the NUSEC journal ''Woman's Leader'', supported the ordination of

women priests The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination was traditionally res ...

, and

equal pay Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full ...

for women. She also opposed restrictive women's clothing: as a matter of practicality, she did not wear a hat or make-up, preferred flat shoes, and kept her hair short. She became involved with the

Workers' Educational Association Workers' Educational Associations (WEA) are not-for-profit bodies that deliver further education to adults in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. WEA UK WEA UK, founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult edu ...

. After the war, she moved to Oxford with her husband and taught economic history at

Somerville College Somerville College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The college's liberal tone derives from its f ...

and

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formally known under ...

. The family moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 1924, where her husband became a professor of philosophy. She was a magistrate in Manchester from 1930 to 1936. The family moved again to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in 1937 where her husband was briefly vice-chancellor for 6 months. After her husband died suddenly in 1937, Stocks moved back to London and became secretary of the London Council of Social Service. In 1939, she became Principal of

Westfield College Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...

where she remained, including a period when the college was temporarily relocated to Oxford during the Second World War, until she retired in 1951. She served on a number of official government committees, often as the only woman.

Politics

Stocks contested the

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

seat at the 1945 general election as an Independent Progressive. Her opponent was the sitting MP who stood as an Independent supporter of the Churchill government. She came within 149 votes of winning. In 1946 Stocks contested a seat for the

Combined English Universities Combined English Universities was a university constituency represented in the United Kingdom Parliament (from 1918 until 1950). It was formed by enfranchising and combining all the English universities, except for Cambridge, Oxford and London ...

at a by-election as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

candidate. The by-election was caused by the death of

Eleanor Rathbone Eleanor Florence Rathbone (12 May 1872 – 2 January 1946) was an independent British Member of Parliament (MP) and long-term campaigner for family allowance and for women's rights. She was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool. ...

(president of the NUSEC, whose biography Stocks wrote in 1949). She was the runner-up amongst five candidates.

Later life and death

Stocks obtained wider public recognition in later life, when she became a

radio broadcaster Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

and appeared frequently on ''

Any Questions? ''Any Questions?'' is a British topical discussion programme "in which a panel of personalities from the worlds of politics, media, and elsewhere are posed questions by the audience". It is typically broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Fridays at 20: ...

'', on quiz shows and gave religious talks. She eventually retired to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, having been created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baroness Stocks, of the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London, Inner London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the secon ...

on 17 January 1966, where she initially took the Labour Party whip before becoming a

cross-bencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...

in 1974. She wrote her autobiography. She was commissioned to write a book on the first 50 years of the WEA (

Workers Educational Association Workers' Educational Associations (WEA) are not-for-profit bodies that deliver further education to adults in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. WEA UK WEA UK, founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult edu ...

) which had been founded in 1903, published in 1953.Detail from a copy of the book published by George Allen and Unwin in 1953 with no ISBN She received several honorary doctorates, including ones from

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in 1955,

Liverpool University The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University, it received Royal Charter by King Edward VII in 1903 attaining the de ...

in 1956, and

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

in 1957. She was a member of the advisory committee to the Anti-Concorde Project. Brian Harrison recorded 2 oral history interviews with Stocks, in April and May 1974, as part of the Suffrage Interviews project, titled ''Oral evidence on the suffragette and suffragist movements: the Brian Harrison interviews.'' In them she talks about her participation in the NUWSS and reasons for joining, as well as her relationships with other prominent names in the suffrage movement, such as

Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed Suffragette bombing and arson ca ...

, Emmeline and Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, Philippa Strachey and Elizabeth Macadam. The collection also contains interviews with both of Stocks’ daughters, Helen Stocks and Ann Patterson, and with Rosalind Hill and Christina Barratt who worked with Stocks at Westfield College. She died in Kensington in July 1975, shortly before her 84th birthday. In 2017, she featured in a conference, ''London's Women Historians'', held at the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hou ...

.London's Women Historians.
Laura Carter & Alana Harris, Institute of Historical Research, 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2019.

Bibliography

* ''Fifty Years in Every Street'' * ''

'' * ''History of the

'' * ''A One Hundred Years of District Nursing'' * '' Ernest Simon of

(UK)'' * ''Unread Best-seller'' * ''My Commonplace Book'' –

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

* '' The Workers Educational Association: The First Fifty Years''

Footnotes

References

* ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949'', compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan 1977)
Dr Mary Stocks
interviewed in 1964 for the BBC radio programme ''Frankly Speaking''. Accessed April 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stocks, Mary 1891 births 1975 deaths British women historians British economic historians English suffragists Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II 20th-century English women writers Writers from London Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford People associated with Westfield College Workers' Educational Association Independent British political candidates