The Former Headquarters Of The Nuwss |
| Hob Uid: 1520011 | |
Location :
Greater London Authority
City of Westminster
Non Civil Parish
|
| Grid Ref : TQ2963479294 |
| Summary : No. 58 Victoria Street, London, was the headquarters of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and the offices of the London Society for Women's Suffrage in 1910. It was probably demolished some time prior to 1983.The NUWSS formed in October 1897 following its proposal at a conference of all women's suffrage societies in Birmingham a year earlier. Its formation recognised the need for a structured and centralised approach to their campaign which would enable them to exert the maximum amount of pressure on the annual presentation of the parliamentary bill.In the general election campaign of 1910 the NUWSS worked tirelessly to secure the election of candidates that were supportive of women's enfranchisement. In July of that year they staged a grand rally alongside the militant Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) as a means of demonstrating solidarity within their shared cause. Such publicity had a positive effect on the membership of the NUWSS which grew from 13 429 in 1909 to 21 571 in 1910. This led to a restructuring of the Union, so that regions were allotted federations of local societies.The London Society for Women's Suffrage was the name given to the Central Society for Women's Suffrage in 1907 following the reorganisation of the NUWSS in that same year. It had 62 member branches in London and had a membership of 4000 by 1912. |
More information : No. 58 Victoria Street, London, was the headquarters of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and the offices of the London Society for Women's Suffrage in 1910.
The NUWSS formed in October 1897 following its proposal at a conference of all women's suffrage societies in Birmingham a year earlier. Its formation recognised the need for a structured and centralised approach to their campaign which would enable them to exert the maximum amount of pressure on the annual presentation of the parliamentary bill. While an Executive Committee focussed their efforts on trying to influence parliament, the local societies concentrated on gathering support in their area of the country.
In the general election campaign of 1910 the NUWSS worked tirelessly to secure the election of candidates that were supportive of women's enfranchisement. They gathered 280 000 signatures from voters in over 290 constituencies. They also contributed to the formulation of a bill based on municipal franchise which was drafted by a committee comprising 36 MPs. It passed the second reading but was ultimately unsuccessful.
In July of that year they staged a grand rally alongside the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPUS) as a means of demonstrating solidarity within their shared cause. Such publicity had a positive effect since the membership of the NUWSS grew from 13 429 in 1909 to 21 571 in 1910. The growth in NUWSS membership led to a restructuring of the Union so that regions were allotted federations of local societies. By 1911 the NUWSS had 16 federations and 26 000 members.
The London Society for Women's Suffrage was the name given to the Central Society for Women's Suffrage in 1907 following the reorganisation of the NUWSS in that same year. It had 62 member branches in London and had a membership of 4000 by 1912. They also recruited non-paying members, of whom they had 20 000 by that same year. (1)
According to Pevsner and Bradley (2003), Nos. 31-59 Victoria Street are known as Bank-Boston House, built in 1983-5 to the designs of Covell Matthews Wheatley Partnership with Tooley and Foster Partnership. (2)
It may be assumed that No. 58 Victoria Street was demolished some time between 1910 and 1983 since according to source 2, No. 58 is now part of a development dating to 1983. (3) |