Liverpool is the hometown of many Britons, including a great number of famous and celebrated individuals. Today, we’re going to talk about the women of Liverpool whose work managed to improve the lives of the city’s residents and beyond. Read more about these remarkable women of Liverpool on the liverpoolka.com website.
Bessie Braddock, a Champion for the Underprivileged
We begin our article with a strong, combative woman—Elizabeth Braddock, born in Liverpool in 1899. She was popularly known as ‘our Bessie’, as she constantly fought to improve the living conditions for Liverpool’s poor.
It’s worth noting that her mother, Mary Bamber, was also a political activist, which inspired Bessie to continue her work.
Bessie Braddock became the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Liverpool Exchange division in the post-war election of 1945. She later became a member of the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee, and in 1968, she became the Vice-Chairman of the party. Her political work led to the Council building a new block of flats for low-income families, which was named ‘The Braddocks’ in her honour.
Lucy Cradock — Liverpool’s First Female Doctor
The name Lucy Cradock will also be forever etched in our city’s history, as she was the first female doctor to practise medicine in Liverpool.
Lucy also established and ran a surgery on Huskisson Street. Alongside this, she served as the medical officer for the female staff at the Liverpool Post Office and was a house physician at the Women’s Hospital. She also held a practice at the Victoria Settlement.
This Liverpool native lived in the city for the rest of her life, dedicating it to treating the residents of Liverpool and its surrounding areas.
‘A True Feminist’: Eleanor Florence Rathbone
Liverpool was home to many feminists and suffragists who fought to improve conditions for women and the poor.
Eleanor Florence Rathbone was the daughter of social reformer William Rathbone VI, and she followed in her father’s footsteps. Together, they worked to investigate social and industrial conditions in Liverpool. After her father’s death, Eleanor continued the fight to improve the lives of women and represented the Granby ward on the city council for 25 years.
Kitty Wilkinson — The Woman Who Pioneered Liverpool’s First Baths and Washhouses
Here is another woman who changed the history of more than just the city of Liverpool. Kitty Wilkinson saved countless lives during the cholera epidemic. She famously offered the residents of Liverpool the use of her boiler to wash their clothes and bedding, and also demonstrated how to use chloride of lime as a disinfectant. The boiling water killed the cholera bacteria, which meant fewer people fell ill and the disease spread less rapidly.
Subsequently, she proposed the construction of the first public bath and washhouse in Liverpool. She became the superintendent of this first bathhouse for the poor—the first such building not only in Liverpool but in the entire country.
Margaret Beavan — The First Female Lord Mayor of Liverpool
She is a lesser-known historical figure in Liverpool, although Margaret Beavan did a great deal for our city.
Margaret was born in Liverpool and dedicated her life to her hometown. She began her career at the Victoria Settlement, working as a teacher and running small classes for children with special needs.
In 1923, she was elected as a city councillor. By that time, Margaret was already a well-known figure in the city, and four years later, she was elected Lord Mayor of Liverpool. It was the first time a woman had been entrusted with this prestigious position.
Lizzie Christian — The City’s Famous Flower Seller
Lizzie Christian wasn’t a feminist, an activist, or a Member of Parliament. She is famous for her entrepreneurial spirit. The fact is, this woman was a legendary flower seller in Liverpool. For over 60 consecutive years, she sold her wares six days a week, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
It is known that Lizzie Christian married at the age of 20 and the couple had seven children. To help her husband provide for the family, she initially worked cleaning steps before starting to sell flowers from a large basket. Her flowers were popular with wealthy customers, and she eventually opened her own flower stall, selling her goods in rain, snow, and heat.
Dame Rose Heilbron — The City’s Renowned Barrister
She was a renowned barrister and High Court judge. Dame Rose Heilbron achieved a remarkable series of ‘firsts’: she was the first woman to win a scholarship to Gray’s Inn, the first to lead in a murder case, the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey, and the first female Recorder. She was a celebrated figure in Liverpool, known for achieving her goals and shattering social stereotypes.
Today, the achievements of these women may not seem so monumental. After all, we see changes and improvements in people’s lives every day. In reality, however, the contribution of these Liverpool women was colossal, especially when you consider that some of our heroines lived in a patriarchal society where a woman had no voice, and her primary mission was considered to be childbirth and child-rearing. Imagine, in such times, a woman successfully campaigning for the opening of a washhouse for the poor, or the construction of housing for low-income families.
These local women demonstrated once again that women can do anything and more. The main thing is the desire to do it.
We hope you found our article informative and learned more about your home city.