Group    From 1/1/1875 

Girls Friendly Society

From English Heritage: "... founded in 1875 by Mary Townsend as an Anglican organisation that offered care and support to such women, through seven 'lodges' across west London, in areas like Ealing, Kensington and at 5 Bourdon Street, Berkeley Square where young women 'working in shops in the neighbourhood and (who) require a comfortable and safe lodgings' could lodge in separate cubicles. By 1912, places were inadequate to meet demand, 'owing to the remarkable development and rapid increase in the number of professions and occupations open to women, and the consequent necessity of their leaving their homes and living away from their relatives and friends'."

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Girls Friendly Society

Commemorated ati

Girls Friendly Society hostel

This foundation stone is behind railings, hence the squew-whiff photo.

Read More

Other Subjects

Mary Lowndes

Mary Lowndes

Artist, suffragette and founder of Artist Suffrage League in 1909. Born Dorset. Trained in stained-glass work. Lived and worked in Chelsea. The photo shows Lowndes in 1890.

Person, Art, Craft / Design, Gender Issues

1 memorial
First gay rights demonstration

First gay rights demonstration

The first gay rights demonstration in Britain took place in Highbury Fields when about 150 members of the Gay Liberation Front held a torchlight rally against police harassment. Louis Eakes of the ...

Event, Gender Issues

1 memorial
Priss Fotheringham

Priss Fotheringham

Some details of Priss's sorry life are given at HistoryWeird: Born in Scotland, she was in London by 1656 and had married Edmund Fotheringham.  "In the late 1650s Priss took up residence in a taver...

Person, Gender Issues, Scotland

1 memorial
Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners

Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners

Formed in 1984 by Mark Ashton and his friend Mike Jackson, this group was only wound down in 2015. The London group used the bookshop Gay's the Word as their HQ. The largest fund-raising event was ...

Group, Gender Issues, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Margaret Ethel MacDonald

Margaret Ethel MacDonald

Feminist and social reformer. Daughter of John & Margaret Gladstone. Born 17 Pembridge Square, her mother dying soon after. Brought up to do good works, she became a socialist, joined the Labou...

Person, Gender Issues, Politics & Administration, Social Welfare

1 memorial