This is the text of a leaflet about Hannah Mitchell that was produced when a blue plaque was placed on the house where she lived in Ashton-Under-Lyne in 1994. Bill Johnson donated a pile of leaflets that we have given over the years to people interested in her life. However, the pile has almost run out, so I have typed up the text so that there is a record of it for anyone who is interested.
TURBULENT TIMES
Hannah Mitchell 1871-1956
A Blue Plaque on 43 Elizabeth Street in Ashton-under-Lyne marks the house which, for ten years was the home of a quite remarkable woman, Hannah Maria Mitchell. It was unveiled on 7th March 1994 by her grandson, Geoffrey. This leaflet tells Hannah’s story.
Early Life
Hannah was the fourth of six children born to farmer Benjamin Webster and his wife, Ann. Their home was Alport Castles Farm in an isolated valley of the Derbyshire Peak District, a mile along a rough cart track from the Manchester Sheffield road and a further eight miles along that road to the nearest town of Glossop. In the opposite direction were the hamlets of Derwent, where the local school was situated, and Ashopton, both now submerged by the reservoirs of the Derwent Valley.
Hannah’s Parents
Both parents were of farming families but very different in temperament. Benjamin was a kindly reserved man, happy to work on the manual jobs of the farm but quite unable to cope with the business side.
Ann was well trained in many aspects of farming having spent her years before marriage on a prosperous farm. Benjamin and Ann took on the tenancy of Alport Castles Farm when they married, borrowing money to stock it and then spent the rest of their lives struggling to repay the loan. This, together with constant childbirth, added to Ann’s bitterness expressing itself in a vile temper which all the family had to endure.
Hannah the Runaway
Their mother’s temper resulted in all the children leaving home as soon as they were able. Hannah ran away to Glossop when she was fourteen staying with her elder brother, William until she found a place as a domestic servant initially and then leaving to work in a dressmaking workroom.
Work, Freedom and Politics
After two years Hannah moved to lodgings in Bolton continuing her work in dressmaking. The long working hours and poverty did not trouble her unduly having been used to both all her early life. She relished the freedom she now had outside working hours to read, study and associate with others of both sexes who shared her interests.
It was at her lodgings that she met the man who introduced her to politics and socialism. Gibbon Mitchell was a tailor’s cutter born in Stalybridge in 1869. He and Hannah soon developed a lasting friendship.
This was a time of growing political activity for the working man and woman. Hannah and Gibbon were in the forefront of these activities within a widening socialist circle. For Gibbon, a Fabian, came the creation along with others of the Independent Labour Party (I.L.P) with Keir Hardie in the lead. Hannah, meanwhile, was becoming more aware of the frustration of women in society and the need for emancipation.
During the nine years in Bolton the couple courted, married and had a son, Frank, living together in a small terraced cottage.
Moves to Derbyshire and Ashton-under-Lyne
Gibbon learnt of a position available in a small draper’s shop in the South Derbyshire mining village of Newhall. As the wage was slightly higher the family decided to move and rented a miner’s cottage. Continuing their political activities Gibbon formed an I.L.P. branch and both were involved with Clarion meetings.
Three years passed before a better paid job in the tailoring department of the Ashton-under-Lyne Co-op persuaded the family to move back into Lancashire, first in Ramsden Street and eventually settling in Elizabeth Street.
Women’s Suffrage
Here began Hannah’s work in women’s suffrage. She took over Bertha Mason’s position on the Ashton Board of Guardians in 1904 and became one of the first six women to form the Women’s Social and Political Union, the ‘Suffragettes’ at the Pankhursts’ home in Manchester.
Hannah had slowly but surely begun to realise that she was a born public speaker, able to inspire and a natural leader.
Suffragette meetings were hazardous affairs with hecklers throwing missiles. There were many quick getaways from dangerous situations.
Hannah in Jail
The Suffragettes used disruptive methods themselves attending political meetings, mainly Liberal ones, asking them to support votes for women. On one occasion Hannah and Adele Pankhurst were caught by the police after interrupting Winston Churchill, a Liberal at that time, at an election meeting at Belle Vue, Manchester. Hannah was sentenced to three days imprisonment in Strangeways although she was bailed out by Gibbon on the first day. She was not grateful for this, saying he was more concerned for his stomach than with the cause.
Hannah campaigned all over the country for the Suffragette cause, a constant pull between home and loved ones and the battle for emancipation.
The Vote is Won But the Work Continues
In 1918 women over thirty and those owning property were given the vote by a grateful government after winning World War 1 supported in the battle by women of all ages. The Pankhursts went their individual ways. Hannah and her Northern Radical Suffragists continued to campaign for votes for all women which was eventually granted in 1928.
Move to Manchester
Continuing to improve his position Gibbon obtained a manager’s post in the tailoring department of the Newton Heath Co-op so the family moved to Newton Heath. Hannah won a seat on the Manchester Board of Guardians, became an I.L.P. Councillor on the City Council and a magistrate.
Hannah’s Story
During the Second World War Hannah was persuaded to write her autobiography. It was published after her death and is called ‘The Hard Way Up’. This important social document helps us to understand a way of life and to marvel at the strength of this very valiant Derbyshire woman.
Acknowledgements to Bill Johnson and Geoffrey Mitchell in the production of this leaflet.
Woodlands Methodist Church 