Walking  in  the  footsteps  of  our  Suffragette  Sisters    A:  Bow  Road  Station    Sylvia  Pankhurst  came  to  Bow  in  1912  to  campaign  for  George  Lansbury  who  was  standing  for  parliament  under  a  ‘Votes  for  Women’  banner  having  resigned  his  seat  in  order  to  do  so.  On  seeing  the  poverty  of  women  in  the  East  End  she  stayed  and  set  about  campaigning  amongst  the  working  poor  of  the  area.    In  January  1914  the  East  London  Federation  of  the  Suffragettes,  led  by  Sylvia,  split  from  the  Women’s  Social  and  Political  Union.  Sylvia’s  mother  and  sister,  Emmeline  and  Christabel,  had  encouraged  her  to  give  up  her  work  with  the  poor  women  of  East  London  -­‐  but  Sylvia  refused.    Besides  campaigning  for  women  to  have  the  right  to  vote,  from  their  headquarters  in  Bow  the  ELFS  called  for  equal  pay,  a  living  wage,  and  better  housing.  They  opened  a  nursery,  a  ‘cost  price’  restaurant,  and  a  cooperative  toy  factory.      At  the  outbreak  of  the  First  World  War,  when  many  families  already  living  in  poverty  in  the  East  End  were  tipped  into  starvation  by  factory  closures  and  male  relatives  were  called  to  the  front,  the  East  London  Federation  of  Suffragettes  organised  distribution  of  milk  and  donations  of  food,  and  helped  women  to  secure  the  modest  allowance  available  for  the  wives  and  children  of  soldiers.      

•   Quiz  Question:  Which  newspaper  coined  the  term  ‘Suffragettes’?  •   Answer:  The  Daily  Mail        

B:  Bow  Police  Station    This  was  the  place  that  more  than  a  few  of  the  East  London  suffragettes  would  have  been  taken  to  as  their  direct  action  provoked  the  ire  of  the  authorities.  The  police  station  is  where  they  would  have  been  held  before  being  transferred  to  Holloway  Prison.      Sylvia  had  become  a  nuisance  to  the  East  London  police  who  sought  to  put  her  behind  bars  at  any  opportunity.  She  evaded  them  more  often  than  not  thanks  for  her  extensive  network  of  supporters  around  the  East  End,  it  was  an  area  not  normally  enamoured  to  the  police  so  she  had  no  problem  avoiding  capture.  She  was  arrested  more  than  any  other  suffragette.      C:  Bromley  Public  Hall  (Tower  Hamlets  Registry  Office)  Still  standing,  the  hall  was  the  location  for  some  of  the  first  meetings  of  the  East  London  Suffragettes.      D:  198  Bow  Road  –  Sylvia  Pankhurst’s  shop  and  first  headquarters  of  the  East  London  Suffragettes  This  is  the  approximate  site  of  198  Bow  Road  the  former  Bakers  where  Sylvia  Pankhurst  first  moved  into  and  painted  ‘Votes  for  Women’  on  the  front  (the  bit  of  wall  overgrown  with  green  is  its  approximate  location).  This  area  was  completely  obliterated  by  the  London  County  Council  in  1933  as  part  of  an  extensive  slum  clearance  programmed.      E:  321  Roman  Road  –  Second  headquarters  of  the  ELFS  On  the  corner  of  the  Roman  Road  and  Parnell  Street  is  the  approximate  location  of  the  second  headquarters  of  the  ELFS.  According  to  Pankhurst:    “We  decided  to  take  a  shop  and  house  at  321  Roman  Rd  at  a  weekly  rental  of  14s  6d  a  week.  It  was  the  only  shop  to  let  in  the  road.  The  shop  window  was  broken  right  across,  and  was  only  held  together  by  putty.  The  landlord  would  not  put  in  new  glass,  nor  would  he  repair  the  many  holes  in  the  shop  and  passage  flooring  because  he  thought  we  would  only  stay  a  short  time.  But  all  such  things  have  since  been  done.  Plenty  of  friends  at  once  rallied  round  us.  Women  came  in  and  scrubbed  the  floors  and  cleaned  the  windows.  Mrs  Wise,  who  kept  the  sweetshop  next  door,  lent  us  a  trestle  table  for  a  counter  and  helped  us  to  put  up  purple,  white  and  green  flags.  Her  little  boy  took  down  the  shutters  for  us  every  morning,  and  put  them  up  each  night,  and  her  little  girls  often  came  in  to  sweep.”    

F:  Roman  Road  Market  Still  going  strong,  the  Roman  Road  market  was  one  of  the  locations  where  a  stall  would  be  set  up  during  the  Saturday  market.  They’d  use  the  stall  to  recruit  people  to  the  cause  and  learn  about  the  stories  of  the  real  women  of  the  East  End.  It  was  at  the  Roman  Road  market  that  ‘The  Woman’s  Dreadnought‘  the  paper  of  the  ELFS  was  sold.    G:  Bow  Baths  –  At  the  heart  of  the  Roman  Road  and  where  Pankhurst  escaped  from  the  police  Another  building,  which  is  no  longer  there,  the  building  was  the  site  of  an  incident  of  legend  when  in  1913  Pankhurst  escaped  from  the  police  after  having  given  a  speech  on  the  steps  of  the  building.      Also  present  by  all  accounts  was  ‘Kosher’  Bill,  a  6ft  Jewish  boxer  who  when  it  was  known  the  police  might  be  around  often  acted  as  Sylvia’s  bodyguard.  The  police  had  snuck  in  the  back  though  and  would  have  caught  the  two  speakers  had  the  crowd  not  noticed.  Sylvia  jumped  into  a  crowd  of  supporters  and  was  disguised  in  an  old  hat  and  coat  and  smuggled  her  out.    H:  28  Ford  Road  –  Home  of  the  Payne’s  who  Sylvia  Pankhurst  lived  with  for  a  year  and  where  she  recovered  from  hunger  strike  After  being  expelled  from  the  ‘Women’s  Social  and  Political  Union’  Sylvia  Pankhurst  came  to  live  with  Jessie  Payne,  a  bootmaker.      She  was  taken  to  the  house  on  a  stretcher  in  1913,  when  following  arrest  for  speaking  in  public  she  went  on  a  hunger  and  thirst  strike.  She  lived  at  28  Ford  Road  for  a  year  and  it  was  here  where  Jessie  Payne  and  Dr.  Flora  Murray  nursed  her  back  to  health.      I:  The  Toy  Factory,  45  Norman  Grove  (formerly  Road)  The  Toy  Factory  was  an  important  initiative  born  as  a  result  of  the  outbreak  of  World  War  1  when  working  men  joined  up  to  join  the  war  effort.  It  left  many  women  and  families  without  a  source  of  income  as  the  men  had  to  give  up  work.  Soldiers’  wives  were  in  theory  supposed  to  receive  an  allowance  but  often  didn’t  receive  it  due  to  poor  administrative  systems  and  bureaucracy.  It  meant  that  women  in  the  east  end  who  were  already  poor,  struggled  even  more  to  make  ends  meet.  The  toy  factory  was  a  way  for  some  women  to  earn  money  it  also  had  a  somewhere  to  drop  off  children  so  they  could  be  looked  after,  one  of  the  first  ever  crèches!  The  factory  employed  59  women  they  turned  out  wooden  toys  and  then  dolls,  stuffed  cats,  dogs  and  bears.      

•   Quiz  Question:  Sylvia  took  a  taxi  to  which  department  store  and  persuaded  the  proprietor  to  become  a  stockist  of  the  goods  made  at  the  Toy  factory?    •   Answer:  Selfridges  

 J:  The  Lord  Morpeth  Pub  and  400  Old  Ford  Road  –  Site  of  the  Women’s  Hall  and  third  headquarters  of  the  East  London  Federation  of  Suffragettes  One  of  the  few  remaining  buildings  from  the  time  of  the  suffragettes,  the  sign  of  the  Lord  Morpeth  once  showed  a  suffragette  holding  a  placard.  It  commemorated  Sylvia  Pankhurst  who  lived  for  a  while  just  next  door  at  400  Old  Ford  Road  and  which  became  the  headquarters  of  the  ELFS.  Pankhurst  lived  there  with  her  friend  Norah  Smyth  and  a  ‘Women’s  Hall’  was  built  just  behind.      It  was  the  site  of  the  cut-­‐price  restaurant  which  aimed  to  provide  nutritious  meals  to  the  poor  of  the  area  after  food  prices  rocketed  at  the  outbreak  of  war  in  1914.The  restaurant  was  another  attempt  to  provide  employment  and  ease  suffering  from  the  hard  pressed  people  of  the  area.      

•   Quiz  question:  There  was  a  mini-­‐controversy  at  the  restaurant  over  which  vegetable?    •   Answer:  Potatoes.  A  woman  employed  by  Pankhurst,  Ennis  Richmond,  refused  to  peel  potatoes  before  putting  them  in  soup.  Ennis  insisted  that  the  skin  was  the  healthiest  and  

most  nutritious  part  of  the  vegetable  and  would  not  give  way.  It  was  a  concern  to  some  of  the  others  who  felt  that  the  poor  people  were  made  to  eat  “muck“  

East  London  Suffragette  Walk    

E: The site of the former 321 Roman Road from where the Women’s Dreadnought was published and which for a time was the headquarters of the East London Suffragettes. Unrecognisable now it’s on the corner of Parnell Road and Roman Road

 

A: Start at Bow Road Station, turn right out of the station and on the opposite side of the road you will see Bow Police station

B: Bow Police Station would have been a familiar place to many of the suffragettes prior to their journey to Holloway    C: Bromley Public Hall Bromley Public Hall was one of the first meeting places of the East London Suffragettes.

 D: 198 Bow Road – Sylvia Pankhurst’s shop and first headquarters of the East London Suffragettes

   

F: Here on Roman Road is where the Woman’s Dreadnought would have been sold

 

G: Bow Baths - Here at Bow baths is where Pankhurst escaped from the Police.

   

   H: St Stephen’s Road – 28 Ford Road – Home of the Payne’s where Sylvia Pankhurst lived for a year and recovered from hunger strike

   I: The Toy Factory - 45 Norman Grove

   J: The Lord Morpeth Pub and 400 Old Ford Road – Site of the Women’s Hall and third headquarters of the East London Federation of Suffragettes