Agnes Metcalfe

Agnes Edith Metcalfe (* 1870 in Wisbech , Cambridgeshire , England ; † November 6, 1923 in Bath , England) was a British headmistress, writer , suffragette and pioneer in the education of girls. She was one of the first women to receive an external Bachelor of Science from the University of London in 1892 .

life and work

Metcalfe was born as the youngest of the three daughters of the court clerk Frank Metcalfe and his wife Judith. She trained at Cheltenham Ladies' College until she graduated in 1892, which consisted of an external Bachelor of Science from the University of London. She then became a teacher and in 1897 she was appointed headmistress of the Stroud Green School in north London. In 1905 she became the first headmistress of the new Sydenham County Council School. In 1907 she became the school inspector of the secondary schools and traveled around England on behalf of His Majesty. She wrote articles on education for girls and several books. Her three chronicles of the suffrage movement appeared during the First World War, the last one immediately afterwards in 1919 entitled "At Last". Her 1917 book Woman's Effort chronicles the fifty year struggle of British women for citizenship (1865-1914) and protests against the force-feeding of women in prisons. The foreword to her 1918 book Woman: A Citizen was written by Beatrice Webb , a leading social reformer and co-founder of the London School of Economics. Metcalfe also wrote a children's book about a dog, "Memoirs of a Mongrel". From her estate, Metcalfe Scholarships for women were established at the London School of Economics , which were awarded to female PhD students.

Publications

• Woman's Effort: A Chronicle of British Women's Fifty Years Struggle for Citizenship, 1865–1914, (Classic Reprint), 2017, ISBN 978-1331935360
• Woman, a Citizen; 2012, ISBN 978-1150053399

Web links

• biography
• biography
• "Agnes Metcalfe - To My Fellow Country Women" by Frances M Lynch