Lavena Saltonstall | |
---|---|
Born |
Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, England | September 1881
Died | September 1957
Bradford, Yorkshire, England | (aged 75–76)
Organization(s) | Women's Labour League, Women's Social and Political Union, Women's Education Association |
Lavena Saltonstall (1881– September 1957) was an English suffragette and writer.
Lavena Saltonstall was born in September 1881 in Rawholme, just outside Hebden Bridge to Mary and John Saltonstall, a fustian dyer. [1] When she was around 10 years old, she left school to work half-time in the local clothing factories. [1] [2] [3] [4]
When she around 23 years old, she moved to Halifax to become a weaver after finding the small-town of Hebden Bridge restricting. [2] [3] While living in Halifax, Saltonstall became involved with the Women's Labour League and the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and suffragette Laura Annie Willson. [2] [3] [5]
In March 1907, she travelled to Westminster and was arrested and imprisoned for 14 days. [2] [5] During 1907 and 1908, Saltonstall invited the founder of the WSPU, Emmeline Pankhurst to give speeches locally. [6] In February 1908, Saltonstall was again arrested in London after refusing to be bound over to keep the peace for 12 months and was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment. [2] [5]
From 1908, she started to distance herself away from the WSPU and instead focusing more on the working class and Labour movements. [2] [6] She turned to the Women's Education Association (WEA) to catch up on the education she missed due to leaving education at a young age. [2] At the WEA, she studied economics and later wrote a WEA corner column for the Halifax Guardian. [5]
In 1917, Saltonstall married a soldier, George Baker at the Unitarian Chapel, Halifax and moved with him to Bradford, where she died in September 1957. [2] [3]
A blue plaque is displayed in the window of the house on Unity Street, Hebden Bridge where Saltonstall used to live. [7]