Hannah Mitchell (1872–1956) was in some respects an ordinary wife and a mother, but she is also remembered as a feminist, a suffragette and a socialist. Born to a poor farming family in Derbyshire, she soon became aware of the inequality between the sexes and was said to have strongly resented having to darn socks and do housework while her brothers relaxed and played cards. Hannah also had a fervent thirst for knowledge but as a 19th century female she was mostly denied an education as it was seen as unnecessary for a woman to be educated at that time. Furthermore, her mother, with whom she had a tricky relationship, was most against education and especially the reading of books. However, despite this opposition, Hannah was able to attend a local school for a brief period where she learnt to read and write and was also given access to books. She was much influenced by her teacher, Miss Brown, who taught her to appreciate and improve herself both mentally and physically. Nevertheless, Hannah found life at home intolerable with her mother›s bad temper and found her treatment of her too much to bear, so she made the brave step of deciding to leave home at the age of 14 and went to live with her brother and his wife in Glossop.

Much happier to be free of her mother’s constraints, in Glossop Hannah was able to make some money by taking in sewing and mending for local women. Earning her own money gave her a strong sense of pride and independence. Other jobs she undertook included working as a maid with a schoolmaster’s family, and although she hated domestic duties, she was given access to their well-filled bookcase, which helped to compensate for the monotony of housework and waiting upon guests. However, such was her dislike of domestic duties and the lack of free time to read and extend her knowledge that she decided to earn her living as an apprentice seamstress, earning 8 shillings a week. The work was hard, and the days were long, but Hannah was fortunate in having a good employer and she soon became a skilled seamstress. Her employer encouraged her in her quest for learning, introducing Hannah to some of her family members who were both educated and well spoken, which served to inspire her. By the age of 19 she had moved to Bolton in Lancashire and was living in lodgings while she worked as a seamstress. Here, Hannah began to become involved with the socialist movement and she attended meetings where workers argued for shorter hours, a regular half day off and better wages. Although initially nervous about attending such meetings, she soon enjoyed them and believed passionately in the need for reform.

Exploring socialism
Based in Bolton, Hannah also attended the Labour Church which had a Christian socialist perspective, and she also began to read the socialist newspaper The Clarion, both serving to encourage her belief in socialism. It was while living in Bolton that she also met her future husband Gibbon Mitchell, who was also a keen socialist; within two years of meeting they were married. Nevertheless, Hannah found married life to be tough as money was a struggle as she had also been forced to give up her job on marriage. The arrival of a son in 1896 also made life more trying and after a difficult labour she vowed never to have any more children, a decision which was supported by her husband. Indeed, in her autobiography The Hard Way Up, Hannah admitted that in retrospect she should never have married because marriage involved too much personal sacrifice. She loathed domestic duties and said that she needed ‘solitude, time for study and the opportunity for a wider life’. Her interest in socialism continued to grow and after moving with her husband to Newhall in Derbyshire, she lived among a mining community and became involved in socialist meetings. A branch of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) was formed in Newhall which held regular meetings in established premises where many well-known speakers spoke out about socialist issues. In 1900 the Mitchells moved to Ashton-under-Lyne as her husband gained employment with the Coop in the tailoring department. Not only was the pay at 30 shillings a week better but also by working for the Cooperative movement he was serving a socialist ideal. Having joined the ILP in Ashton she met well-known figures in the Labour Party including Keir Hardie, Phillip Snowden and Ramsay MacDonald and soon began to make speeches of her own commenting on socialism and the inequality between the sexes which were well received.

Soon, in 1904, she became a poor law guardian in Ashton and made her presence felt when she objected to a ruling whereby inmates at the workhouse would be deprived of their beer with their Christmas dinner. In Manchester she became acquainted with Emmeline Pankhurst, and she later visited the Pankhursts at their Nelson Street home, following which she joined the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) and took part in the intense propaganda campaigning which preceded the outbreak of militancy in 1905. Hannah was present in October 1905 at the Free Trade Hall when Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kenney were arrested for disrupting a Liberal Party meeting and demanding votes for Women. Hannah was also present when the two women were released from Strangeways Prison and looked on with Emmeline Pankhurst and the crowds of supporters who had gathered to show sympathy and solidarity. Indeed, the following year Hannah herself spoke out at a meeting in St John’s Schoolroom in Deansgate Manchester where Winston Churchill was speaking. Standing up, she asked if the Liberal government would grant votes for women but found herself to be a figure of disdain, although she recalled that at least Churchill stopped to listen to her. Another meeting was held at Belle Vue in Manchester where again Churchill was speaking and this time the police took a firmer stance and ejected the suffrage supporters before arresting them all. After a short spell in Strangeways prison herself, Hannah was released and reunited with her husband, who was supportive of the demand of voting rights for women.

Nervous breakdown
Unfortunately in 1907 Hannah suffered a nervous breakdown, which was by caused by overwork and stress while she was campaigning for the WSPU in Jarrow. An extended period of rest and recuperation was required but Hannah was hurt by the fact that the Pankhursts did not get in touch nor extend any sympathy towards her. Disillusioned, she joined the Women’s Freedom League, a breakaway group from the WSPU which, although militant, preferred passive resistance to taxation and non-census compliance rather than violent action. By the summer of 1908 she was once again involved in politics but at the outbreak of war in 1914, although a pacifist, she agreed to put the women’s suffrage fight on hold. Following the war life became easier for her and she turned her attention to writing, joining the Lancashire Authors’ Association; she also wrote in a small paper run by the ILP called the Northern Voice, which was devoted to women’s interests and issues.

In 1924, the ILP nominated her to be a member of Manchester City Council, a post that she held until 1935. During this time, she served the parks, the libraries and the Baths and Public Health Committee before joining the Public Assistance Committee which dealt with poor relief and where her previous experience of the poor law stood her in good stead. She was responsible for setting up public wash houses which were much welcomed by the public and meant that homes could be free of damp clothing and steam. She also championed unmarried mothers as part of her work on the Public Assistance Committee and was a committed feminist believing in equal pay for women, being opposed to the marriage bar in teaching whereby married women had to give up work once married. Finally, from 1926 to 1946 she also served as a magistrate for Lancaster and was proud of her record of public service and the way that she put her experience in public life to beneficial use. During the Second World War, she decided to write her memoirs, but these were not published until 1968.

Hannah Mitchell’s chief aim in life was to champion those causes that she believed in such as women’s suffrage and socialism, in the hope of making a lasting difference. This she achieved through her work with organisations such as ILP, the WSPU and the Women’s Freedom League, as a member of Manchester Council and a long-serving magistrate. Her contribution to the suffrage movement was considerable, especially as she had to combine her campaigning and her political life with the role of housewife and mother, which she found very trying at times and which eventually negatively impacted upon her mental health. Ultimately, as highlighted in her autobiography, her greatest enemy proved not to be the patriarchal nature of the society into which she had been born and in which she lived but instead it was the kitchen stove. It was the constant meal-making and related household chores which always served to prohibit her from following her true passions in life which were reading, a deep love of learning and above all her desire to stand up for ordinary women and make a real difference to their lives. {