| Summary : No. 111a Whiteladies Road, Bristol, was an office and shop run by the Bristol and West of England Society for Women's Suffrage in 1911. It is likely they remained here for a couple of years, since it is known that they moved to 40 Park Street, Bristol, in 1913. In 1912 it was noted that their premises comprised a shop, office, kitchen and smaller offices which cost £42 in rent. They were open from 11:30am until 6:30pm, except for dinner hour from 1pm to 2:30pm and they were closed on Saturday afternoons. They employed a secretary who kept the shop and lived next door, and an office boy who delivered notices. The society held weekly debates and lectures on the premises, charging an admission of 6d, and let the rooms to other societies for meetings. |
More information : No. 111a Whiteladies Road, Bristol was an office and shop run by the Bristol and West of England Society for Women's Suffrage in 1911. It is likely they remained here for a couple of years, since it is known that they moved to 40 Park Street, Bristol, in 1913.
The society formed in 1868 as the Bristol and Clifton branch of the National Society for Women's Suffrage, changing their name to the Bristol and West of England Society for Women's Suffrage in 1869.
In 1898 the Bristol society joined the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) which formed a year earlier. Its formation recognised the need for a structured and centralised approach to the suffrage 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, including the Bristol society, concentrated on gathering support in their area of the country.
In 1912, the NUWSS set up the Election Fighting Fund (EFF) which was used to support Labour candidates at by-elections and a means of building a stronger alliance with the party. Following the adoption of this policy by the NUWSS, a separate society formed in east Bristol to focus on supporting the EFF. It also caused three members of the Bristol society to resign, since the area had always been a Liberal strong-hold.
In early 1912, the Cambridge Women's Suffrage Association wrote to the Bristol society to ask for details of how they ran their shop, indicating that it was a successful venture. They replied that the premises which comprised a shop, office, kitchen and smaller offices cost £42 in rent and that they were open from 11:30am until 6:30pm, except for dinner hour from 1pm to 2:30pm and on Saturday afternoons. They employed a secretary who lived next door and kept the shop, and an office boy who delivered notices. The society held weekly debates and lectures on the premises, charging an admission of 6d, and let the rooms to other societies for meetings. (1)
Please see ST5776774089 on OS map dated 1918. No. 111 appears to have been subdivided into two or three buildings at this time.(2)
While No. 111 Whiteladies Road is a listed building, it isn't clear whether the building that was No. 111a in 1911 is now part of No. 111. There is no other evidence to determine the current use of the building or even whether it is still extant. (3)
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