Carpenter, Mary

EDUCATOR, SOCIAL REFORMER (ENGLAND)
BORN 3 Apr 1807, Exeter, Devon - DIED 14 Jun 1887, Bristol
GRAVE LOCATION Bristol: Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bath Road

Daughter of the unitarian minister Lant Carpenter (1780-1840). Her articles, books and lobbying work was instrumental for the passing of several educational acts. Her paper was "On the Importance of the Statistics to the Reformatory Movement, with Returns from Female Reformatories, and remarks on them" was published by the Statistical Society in London in 1857 as the first paper that was written by a woman. After meeting Samuel May from Boston she supported the anti-slavery movement during the next twenty years.

In 1852 she founded a reformatory school for young offenders in Bristol. She started a separate girl's reformatory in 1854 in what is now Red Lodge Museum. The building was acquired for her use by Lady Byron and when Lady Byron died in 1860 she received a legacy to purchase it. Anti-vivisectionist Frances Power Cobbe worked at the Red Lodge and lived with her from 1858 to 1859, but they quarreled and Cobbe left the school.

Later in life she supported the right for women to attend higher education and women's suffrage.

Related persons
• was supported by Milbanke, Anna Isabella

Images

The grave of Mary Carpenter at Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol.
Picture by Androom (16 Aug 2017)

 

Sources
Mary Carpenter - Wikipedia (EN)


Carrand, Louis-Hilaire

Published: 26 May 2018
Last update: 26 May 2018