Elizabeth Ann Pinnance (1879-1959) née Shaw

Biography

Elizabeth Ann Shaw was born at Paddock, Huddersfield, the daughter of cloth finisher Paul Shaw and his wife Mary.

By 1891, the Shaw family was residing at Johnny Moore's Hill, Paddock Brow.

She married cloth presser Robert Ormond Pinnance, the son of David Hey Pinnance, on 10 June 1899 at All Saints, Paddock. The couple had three known children:

  • William Maxwell Pinnance (1899-1980)[1]
  • Irene Pinnance (1901-1989)[2]
  • Kathleen Pinnance (1905-1906)

At the time of the 1901 Census, the family were living at 8 Kilner's Buildings, Longroyd Bridge. Elizabeth's occupation was given as "carpet rug weaver".

Suffrage

Elizabeth was a Suffragette and a member of the Huddersfield branch of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU).

Following the failure of the second reading of Willoughby Dickinson's Bill on 8 March 1907, she was one of the delegates who travelled to London on 19 March to attend the demonstration and march on Parliament which was held the following day. She was one of several women from Huddersfield who were arrested during the repeated attempts to break through the police lines and was sentenced to 6 weeks in Holloway Prison. According to several newspapers, Elizabeth had led a determined attempt to gain entry to the House of Commons during the evening:[3]

Later in the evening crowds of women again marched towards the House, but there was very little disorder. Mrs. Pinnance (Huddersfield) was at their head, and along with three companions she made a gallant effort to push her way through the cordon of police who had remained on duty, but was unsuccessful in the attempt. She, however, soon succeeded in getting marched off to the police station with her three colleagues.

The others who were arrested on 20 March were:

Later Life

By 1911, the family was residing at 13 Longwood Road, and Elizabeth was working as a cloth rug weaver.

Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, the couple were running a boarding house on Adelaide Street, Blackpool. However, the later returned to Huddersfield and resided at Cross Cottages in Marsh.

Elizabeth Ann Pinnance died on 1 August 1959 at St. Luke's Hospital, leaving an estate valued at £235 5s. 9d. Her husband died on 29 January 1965.

Further Reading

Notes and References

  1. Born 30 August 1899. Married Isabel Sykes on 7 June 1930 at St. Thomas's Church, Longroyd Bridge. Resided at 9 Red Doles Road at the time of the 1939 Register.
  2. Born 25 December 1901. Married John Hepworth in 1924.
  3. "A Second Attempt to Rush the House" in Sheffield Daily Telegraph (21/Mar/1907)