Vera Florence Annie Woodhouse, Lady Terrington (née Bousher; 11 January 1889 – 19 May 1973) was a British

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician, and one of the first women Members of Parliament (MP).

Background

She was born Vera Florence Annie Bousher, the second daughter of Henry George Bousher a druggist's assistant, and Anne Elizabeth Koster. She married firstly in 1907 Guy Ivo Sebright who died in 1912. In 1918 she married Harold Woodhouse, 2nd Baron Terrington, whom she divorced in 1926. Finally she married Marinus Wilhelm Lensvelt 28 March 1949.

Political career

She joined the Liberal Party and took an active interest in the affairs of South

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. She served as Vice-President of the Buckinghamshire Lace Association. She was a Member of the Grand Council of Our Dumb Friends League.The Woman's Year Book, 1923 At the 1922 general election, she stood as a Liberal candidate in the Wycombe division of Buckinghamshire. Wycombe was a Unionist seat where no Liberal candidate had stood at the previous election and no Liberal had won since 1906. She managed to secure a good second place. She was one of only thirty-three women candidates standing at that election. She contested Wycombe again at the December 1923 general election, and was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

defeating the sitting Unionist member. Her Unionist opponent was an avowed anti-feminist, and her victory was greeted with special delight among women's societies such as the Six Point Group. This made her one of only eight women in the House of Commons. In

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, she supported the abolition of the

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for old-age pensions, making her maiden speech seconding a motion on the subject. She also actively supported the Guardianship of Infants Bill which would have given both parents equal rights to custody. She also campaigned against cruelty to animals. She lost her seat a year later, at the 1924 general election, an election in which Liberal candidates did badly across the country. She did not stand for parliament again. She was active inside the Liberal Party at a national level, particularly with the

Women's Liberal Federation The Women's Liberal Federation was an organisation that was part of the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom. History The Women's Liberal Federation (WLF) was formed on the initiative of Sophia Fry, who in 1886 called a meeting at her house of f ...

moving a resolution promoting women's rights on a broad front and specifically calling for an equal franchise. In 1925 she was re-adopted by Wycombe Liberals as their candidate for the following election but withdrew due to problems in her personal life. After 1949 she moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. She did not enter public life in South Africa. She returned to Britain and died on 19 May 1973. She was cremated at

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

on 30 May 1973. Her ashes were interred in East Hoathly Churchyard,

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

on 1 August 1973. At the time of her death she was living at Monks Cottage, Graywood, East Hoathly. Her age was given as 84.

Notes

References

Lady Terrington (Vera Woodhouse)
at the Centre for the Advancement of Women in Politics * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Terrington, Vera Woodhouse, Lady Terrington 1889 births 1973 deaths 20th-century British women politicians 20th-century English people 20th-century English women British baronesses by marriage British feminists Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People from East Hoathly UK MPs 1923–1924