More information : No. 15 St. George's Terrace in Queensgate, London, was the official address of the London National Society for Women's Suffrage (LNSWS) from 1872 until sometime prior to 1877. It was the home of Charlotte Burbury who had served on the executive committee of the LNSWS since 1868 and became secretary in 1871-2. She is said to have still held this position in 1874 but not by 1877 when the LNSWS rejoined with the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (CCNSWS).
The LNSWS was formed in 1867, succeeding the Enfranchisement of Women Committee. Their first meeting was held on 5 July 1867 at Aubrey House, the home of Mentia Taylor. On 17 July 1869 the Society held their first public meeting in the Gallery of the Architectural Association at 9 Conduit Street, London. According to Crawford, "the chair was taken by Mentia Taylor and the audience heard for the first time women speak from a London platform in the furtherance of their cause."
With its establishment, the LNSWS joined the Manchester National Society for Women's Suffrage (MNSWS) with the intention of creating a federation of suffrage societies. Unlike the Manchester Society however, the LNSWS never operated from a formal office but instead gathered at the homes of its members and gave its official address as that of the secretary in post at the time.
The LNSWS promoted the cause for women's suffrage through the production and circulation of a range of pamphlets and publications and membership was open to all, including working men and women. The LNSWS split in 1871 with some members leaving to the form the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (CCNSWS). The reasons for the split were due to the objections of some LNSWS members to the MNSWS's intentions of forming a London-based committee of provincial members and also to the involvement of some MNSWS members in working for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act. In 1877 the LNSWS and CCNSWS merged, under the name of the latter society. By this time those most in opposition to the ideas of the CCNSWS were no longer active. (1)
Please see approximately TQ2614679244 on OS map (MasterMap) dated 2007, scale 1:2500. This terrace of buildings is numbered 42-72 Gloucester Road. (2)
Please see approximately TQ2614679244 on OS map dated 1869, scale 1:2500. The terrace is marked as 'St George's Terrace'. (3)
Please see approximately TQ2614679244 on OS map dated 1916, scale 1:2500. (4)
According to Pevsner and Cherry, Nos. 42-72 Gloucester Road in the Kensington and Chelsea Borough were built in 1907-9 by Paul Hoffman. (5)
Pevsner and Cherry indicate that the terrace currently on this site was built in 1907-9 and therefore St. George's Terrce must have been demolished some time prior to this. This can be confirmed by comparing MasterMap (source 2) with OS maps dated to 1869 (source 3) and 1916 (source 4).
Comparing MasterMap (source 2) with OS map dated to 1869 (source 3), it is clear that the terrace on this site as of 2007 is not that which existed in 1869. The footprint of the terraced houses, now marked as Nos. 42-72 Gloucester Road, is completely different. The OS map dated to 1916 (source 4) shows a terrace that is of the same footprint as that on MasterMap. (6)
|