Born: 1864 (Lutterworth, Leicestershire)
Died: 1948
Biography:
Pleasance Pendred (15 July 1864 – 29 September 1948) was a British campaigner for women’s rights, an activist, and suffragette. Born as Kate Pleasance Jackson in Lutterworth in Leicestershire, she was the daughter of Thomas Jackson, a grocer, and Elizabeth née Pendred. Her late maternal aunt was also called Pleasance Pendred.
In 1881, at the age of 16, Kate Jackson worked as a Pupil Teacher at Osney House School in Oxford. By 1891, Kate and her widowed father were living as boarders at 46 Langdon Park Road in Hornsey, and by this time, she was working as a School Board Teacher. She remained at Langdon Park Road until at least 1927.
For 25 years, Pleasance worked as a teacher in London, but she was also an active member of the Hornsey branch of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). To continue her activism without repercussions from her employers, she adopted the name ‘Pleasance Pendred’. From 1909 until 1910, she served as the Literature Secretary for the Hornsey branch of the WSPU, later renamed ‘North Islington’. However, she resigned from this position in September 1910. Despite her resignation, she continued to collect money and object donations for the Hornsey branch of the WSPU until October 1912.
In January 1913, Pleasance resigned from her teaching post to engage in militant action for the WSPU. Alongside three other women, she participated in the smashing of windows in various shops, including an antiquities shop on Victoria Street and government offices in Westminster. In February 1913, during her trial, Pleasance provided her name as Pleasance Pendred and was subsequently sentenced to four months of hard labor in Holloway Prison.
While in Holloway, Pleasance went on a hunger strike as a protest, a common tactic used by suffragettes at the time. This led to her being force-fed by prison authorities. During her sentence, she used the dock to publicly voice her complaints about the treatment she and the other suffragettes experienced at Rochester Row Police Station. She accused the Home Secretary, Reginald McKenna, of lying about the conditions in the prison. Pleasance claimed that her cell had a plank bed, the sanitary arrangements were appalling, and a male warder entered her cell five times during the night. As a result of her claims, the jury requested an investigation by the Chairman of the Sessions.
Pleasance Pendred continued her involvement in women’s rights activism and made a lasting impact on society through her dedication to the cause.