The Suffragettes in London

On Friday 18 November, in 1910, 300 women peacefully marched to the Houses of Parliament as part of the campaign to win votes for women. The women were assaulted by police officers and bystanders for six hours, in a day that came to be known as Black Friday. At least two women died as a result of their injuries. The day sparked window smashing by Suffragettes across the country, and hundreds were arrested.  

If you visit 120 Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, you’ll spot a blue plaque for Sylvia Pankhurst who moved there in 1906. Her mother, Emmeline, and sister, Christabel, moved nearby to 50 Clarendon Road, Kensington, in 1916 but the First World War caused a rift between the two households. Emmeline and Christabel supported the war effort – Sylvia on the other hand was a socialist and pacifist. Emmeline took in four babies during the war whose fathers were on the front line, and later set up an adoption home using funds from the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU).

In 1913, Sylvia founded the East London Federation of the Suffragettes and the first public meeting was held at Bromley Public Hall on 14 February. Afterwards, the group broke windows at the local police station and Sylvia was arrested and fined, and this happened again after her first public speech a few days later in the East End.

Emmeline Pankhurst was arrested outside Buckingham Palace, along with another 56 suffragettes, in May 1914. They were trying to deliver a petition to King George V and were met by 1,000 police officers. Citizens helped restrain the women for arrests to be made, and some women were taken away in ambulances due to the violence.

In 1918 the first women were granted the vote in Great Britain and Ireland. The Representation of the People Act was passed which allowed women over the age of 30 who owned property, or were married to a property owner, to vote. It would be another 10 years until women over 21 were granted the same voting rights as men.