The School of Housewifery at The Grange, Street, Somerset
The idea for the subject for this A Few Forgotten Women Friday, which will take place on 24 November 2023, came about in August 2023 when Pat and Wendy were at an event at the Alfred Gillett Trust and were looking at a photograph in the hallway of a group of women in front of The Grange. The photograph was taken by Walter Tully of Glastonbury and the date 1897 is written on the back of the original photograph in the archive. Records show that a School of Housewifery began at The Grange in 1897 and the census returns for 1901 and 1911 show the staff and students from those years. It is not clear when the school closed but another school had opened there by 1917. A total of 55 women and girls feature across the two census returns and one other is known about through a document held elsewhere.
As well as looking at the staff and students from the School of Housewifery we will also look at some women enumerated in the 1891 census as living in Street and working in the shoemaking industry for C & J Clark. These women also feature in an employee signature book from the same year which gives the number of years worked at the company [Alfred Gillett Trust, No1/29/5].
The Grange is believed to be one of the oldest buildings in Street although it has been remodelled and added to over the years. It is now home to the Alfred Gillett Trust which cares for the business, family and local history collections of C & J Clark and in 2025 a new museum will open on the site to make these collections more accessible to the public.
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Image used with kind permission of the Alfred Gillett Trust
Martha Ellen Backholer, later Martha Ellen Gee 1887-1935 from Sidbury, Devon – Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 8 minute read.
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Bessie Louisa Bennett, later Bessie Louisa Lawrence 1885-1974 from Long Sutton, Somerset – Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 4 minute read.
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Elsie Binning, later Elsie Collins 1895-1977 from Rodney Stoke, Somerset – Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 6 minute read.
Caroline Body, later Caroline Banwell, afterwards Caroline Phillips 1886-1944 from Biddisham, Somerset – No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 4 minute read.
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Mabel Burt, later Mabel Collings 1887-1924 from Long Sutton, Somerset – Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 4 minute read.
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Ellen Clara Bush, later Ellen Clara Helps 1887- from Baltonsborough, Somerset – Child Mortality, Murder, No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 7 minute read.
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Pauline Mary Josephine Calazel 1876-1960 from Glasgow, Scotland – No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 20 minute read.
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Isabel Cayley 1873-1957 from Scampston, Lincolnshire Lily Ann Cotter 1896-1954 from Tiverton, Devon – No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 5 minute read.
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Florence Jane Collins, later Florence Jane Cox 1887-1983 from Combe St. Nicholas, Somerset – Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 2 minute read.
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Lily Ann Cotter 1896-1954 from Tiverton, Devon – No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 6 minute read.
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Dulcie Martha Rose Cottle 1895-1956 from Radstock, Somerset – No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 7 minute read.
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Alice Jubilee Crouch 1887-1970 from Bristol, Somerset – No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 3 minute read.
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Annie Dyer, later Annie Luffman 1895-1994 from Crewkerne, Somerset – Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 3 minute read.
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Margaret Evans 1865-1933 from Ebbw Vale, Wales – No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 8 minute read.
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Alberta Catherine Green, later Alberta Catherine Edwards 1887-1867 from Keinton Mandeville, Somerset – Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 3 minute read.
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Daisy Selina Hawker, later Daisy Selina Pople 1887-1978 from Glastonbury, Somerset - Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 4 minute read.
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Ada Bessie Hucker 1896-1973 from Catcott, Somerset – No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 3 minute read.
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Minnie Jones, later Minnie Young 1887-1969 from Ashwick, Somerset – Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 5 minute read.
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Jessie Lemon, later Jessie Haggett 1887-1979 from Wells, Somerset – Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 3 minute read.
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Agnes Eliza McGovern, later Agnes Eliza Griffin 1887-1978 from North Wootton, Somerset – Abandonment, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 4 minute read.
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Hilda Amelia Marsh, later Hilda Reed 1897-1946 from Street, Somerset – Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 16 minute read.
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Elsie Coe Melliar, later Elsie Coe Wright 1895-1944 from Midsomer Norton, Somerset – Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 7 minute read.
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Julia Oliver 1895-1988 from Bristol, Somerset - No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 3 minute read.
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Margaret Hunter Pearson, 1869-1943 from Campbell Town, Argyllshire, Scotland – No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 6 minute read.
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Ethel Pike, later Ethel Cooke 1886-1968 from Locking, Somerset – Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 2 minute read.
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Bessie Emily Rowley, later Bessie Emily Pike, afterwards Bessie Emily Wilmot 1885-1968 from Hutton, Somerset - Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 4 minute read.
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Winnifred Snell 1887-1966 from Gosport, Hampshire - No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 3 minute read.
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Mary Annie Summers 1896-1920 from Ashcott, Somerset - No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 3 minute read.
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Gladys Annie Vincent 1895-1955 from Somerton, Somerset - No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 10 minute read.
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Mary Lilian Warr, later Mary Lilian Rose 1883-1964 from Bridport, Somerset - Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 3 minute read.
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Alma Willment, later Alma Webber 1885-1985 from Henlade, Somerset - No Descendants, Women at Work, Grange School of Housewifery. 4 minute read.
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Coming soon - shorter stories including: Ellen J Gay; Lena Doris Lyons, later Lena Doris Burchett; Nellie Manley, later Nellie Hill; Lilian Martin, later Lilian Norris; Theresa Ellen Rowe, later Theresa Ellen Stride and Alice Bertha Underhill, later Alice Bertha Foster.