}
'The Horfield Five'
In November 1909, five women were imprisoned at Horfield Prison; Theresa Garnett, Ellen Pitman, Vera Wentworth, Mary Sophia Allen, and Jessie Lawes. They were campaigning against Churchill, who had come to Bristol to deliver a speech opposing votes for women.
Theresa Garnett was an active Suffragette involved in a number of protests in London and Liverpool. She was accused of assaulting Winston Churchill with a whip at Temple Meads Station, calling out: “Take that in the name of the insulted women of England!” She refused to give her real name when arrested, declaring her name to be 'Votes for Women'. She was found guilty of disturbing the peace. A contemporary report stated that she had not actually hit Churchill but her sentence was a month’s imprisonment in Horfield Prison. She was later awarded the ‘Hunger Strike Medal for Valour’ by the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU).
Nurse Ellen Pitman sent a message to Churchill on a brick, through the plate glass window of the Post Office on Small Street. Vera Wentworth broke windows at the Liberal Club in Bristol. During her imprisonment she was force fed twice a day. Mary Sophia Allen and Jessie Lawes broke windows at the Board of Trade Office in Bristol. This was Mary's third sentence of 1909. Whilst mending men's shirts in prison, she embroidered 'Votes for Women' into the shirt tails.
Churchill's speech at Colston Hall (now called Bristol Beacon) was disrupted by male supporters of votes for women. Women had been prevented from entering the meeting. One man was ejected for questionning why women couldn't vote, another man was beaten by stewards for highlighting the torture of imprisoned women.
Theresa Garnett was an active Suffragette involved in a number of protests in London and Liverpool. She was accused of assaulting Winston Churchill with a whip at Temple Meads Station, calling out: “Take that in the name of the insulted women of England!” She refused to give her real name when arrested, declaring her name to be 'Votes for Women'. She was found guilty of disturbing the peace. A contemporary report stated that she had not actually hit Churchill but her sentence was a month’s imprisonment in Horfield Prison. She was later awarded the ‘Hunger Strike Medal for Valour’ by the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU).
Nurse Ellen Pitman sent a message to Churchill on a brick, through the plate glass window of the Post Office on Small Street. Vera Wentworth broke windows at the Liberal Club in Bristol. During her imprisonment she was force fed twice a day. Mary Sophia Allen and Jessie Lawes broke windows at the Board of Trade Office in Bristol. This was Mary's third sentence of 1909. Whilst mending men's shirts in prison, she embroidered 'Votes for Women' into the shirt tails.
Churchill's speech at Colston Hall (now called Bristol Beacon) was disrupted by male supporters of votes for women. Women had been prevented from entering the meeting. One man was ejected for questionning why women couldn't vote, another man was beaten by stewards for highlighting the torture of imprisoned women.