Legacy Makers and Boundary Breakers

Women have always played an integral part in church life. They feature often in church art and literature. Artists, conservationists, patrons and politicians, these women had significant influence in their time. Historically though, their accomplishments have not always been celebrated and their legacies often remain unrecognised. Here we look at the lives and stories of a handful of these extraordinary women associated with historic English churches. 

Churches are usually dedicated to, and named after, a saint. This 12th-century church in Leigh Delamere is dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch (298-304). People believed that devotion to Margaret protected women and infants during childbirth. When it was rebuilt in 1846, a small stone statue of St Margaret was added above the south porch entrance – she watches over and prays for all those who enter.

Not long after this era of brutal religious turmoil had passed, Anne Hathaway (1556-1623) lived with her father and siblings at this farmhouse in the hamlet of Shottery near Stratford-upon-Avon. Anne, an educated landowner, is said to have married her young suitor in All Saints, Billesley – a humble little church in Warwickshire.

Anne Clifford (1590-1676)  was a diarist and patron of literature who also had considerable influence in civic life in her role as High Sheriff of Westmorland. Born into a noble family, Anne's parents' estate – the Earldom of Cumberland – had bypassed her and went to her uncle when her father died. It was usual at the time for inheritance to pass only between the men in a family. She spent 40 years fighting to regain her inheritance and was finally successful in 1643. 

Charlotte Finch (1725-1813) served as Royal Governess to the children of King George III. As well as being responsible for the education of the royal children, Lady Charlotte is believed to have invented the jigsaw puzzle – it was reportedly used as a device to help the young princes learn geography. 

The life of Harriot Mellon (1777-1837) is a true 'rags to riches' story. Born into a family travelling theatre, she was an actor living in unglamourous conditions. After one theatre performance she met and eventually married the wealthy Thomas Coutts, founder of Coutts & Co. bank. She inherited his vast fortune and had a senior role at the bank. Harriot became well known in London Society, hosting parties for the rich and famous and later married the Duke of St Albans. Harriot is buried in St Andrews church, Redbourne.

Anne Lister (1791-1840) was a successful industrialist, wealthy landowner and mountaineer. Anne's distinctive style of dress – always in black and without 'feminine' skirts and frills – and her unusual openness about her lesbian sexuality earned her the nickname 'Gentleman Jack'. After her death, Anne became known for her diaries which detailed her daily life, including her relationships and eventual marriage to Ann Walker in the medieval church of Holy Trinity, York, in 1834.

Anne Elizabeth Baker (1786-1861) conducted an incredible conservation project in St Peter's Church in Northampton. For 11 years she painstakingly removed plasterwork by hand with a bone knife, to uncover an equisite series of Norman carvings. These carvings were likely hidden under plaster following the English Reformation.  After two centuries of white plaster walls, Anne was able to unveil the remarkable foliage, scrollwork, birds and beasts that lay beneath. Dating to c.1086, St Peter's boasts some of England's finest surviving Romanesque carvings.

Mary Curzon (1870-1906) was born and raised in America. She served as Vicereine of India as the wife of Lord Curzon, holding the highest official title in Imperial India under British rule. She was responsible for a number of important medical reforms for the care of women in India. She was  instrumental in protecting one-horned rhinoceroses and also helped revive traditional Indian crafts. By influencing master craftspeople to adapt their designs to European tastes and by facilitating trade, Indian materials and motifs became highly fashionable in European cities. In recent popular culture, it has been speculated that Mary Curzon and her daughters inspired the main characters of popular TV series 'Downton Abbey'.

Margaret E. Aldrich Rope (1891-1988) was a prominent stained glass artist working in the the Arts and Crafts style. She created this striking window in St Mary's Church, Edlesborough, depicting a Nativity scene. Margaret was a prolific designer of stained glass for churches, always using her signature style.

This window dedicated to Kate Louisa Murrish (1864-1942) was commissioned by her husband after her death. It was designed by the Scottish artist Douglas Strachan  in 1944. This glorious window, made as a tribute to remarkable women's achievements, particularly highlights people who carried out great work in their communities or who helped other people at great personal cost.

Josephine Butler (1828-1906) campaigned for women's right to vote, better education for women, the abolition of child prostitution, and the end to human trafficking of vulnerable young women and children around Europe. She wrote over 90 books, essays and pamphlets supporting her campaigns to raise public awareness.

Edith Cavell (1865-1915) was a pioneer of modern nursing. A British nurse working in Belgium, she saved hundreds of lives during World War One. Collaborating with a group of covert agents, she was able to get over 200 Allied soldiers out of occupied Belgium and into the Netherlands, neutral territory where they would be safe. Unfortunately, she was caught by the occupying German army and despite international pressure for mercy, was executed by firing squad at the age of 49, just a year after the conflict's outbreak.