Connie Lewcock

Constance Lewcock
OBE
Connie Lewcock in Westminster Hall in 1978
Born(1894-04-11)11 April 1894
Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England
Died11 November 1980(1980-11-11) (aged 86)
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
EducationQueen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Horncastle
OccupationPolitician
OrganizationWomen's Social and Political Union
Political partyIndependent Labour Party
Children3

Constance Mary Lewcock OBE (née Ellis, 11 April 1894 – 11 November 1980) was a British suffragette, arsonist and socialist. She campaigned with the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and the Independent Labour Party.

Life

Lewcock was born on 11 April 1894 in Horncastle, Lincolnshire.[1] Her parents were Thomas Henry Ellis and Emily Mary Lessware.[2]

Lewcock was educated at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Horncastle.[3] She moved to Esh Winning in 1912 to work as a teacher.[4]

In 1913, Lewcock volunteered her services to the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and was initially warned against getting arrested. She learnt about politics by chairing and talking at WSPU meetings across County Durham.[1]

In 1913, Lewcock tried to set alight a pier of Durham Cathedral, but couldn’t work out a way of detonating her bomb without harming herself.[5] She later committed what she called the "perfect crime," when in March 1914 she burnt down a railway building at Esh Winning.[6] She had designed a system where a jar of flammable liquid was set alight when a candle burnt down. This meant that by the time the wooden building was alight she was miles away establishing an alibi. She also had the assistance of a miner named Joss Craddock, who she had met at meetings of the Independent Labour Party at Cornsay Colliery.[5] They attended meetings together where he could hold back the stewards whilst she made her point.[1][7] This meant that Lewcock avoided the bruises that she used to get before they met.[1]

The railway building at Esh Winning burnt down but the Police could not make formal charges as she had over thirty witnesses who could testify that she was with them at the time of the fire. However her employers did not need proof and she was told that she must stop her political actions or give up teaching.[1] She gave up teaching,[1] but this was just as suffragette activity disappeared. That year the WSPU agreed a truce with the government for the period of the war. Lewcock increased her activities for the Independent Labour Party.[1]

She married William Lewcock at Horncastle Congregational Church.[2] He was a regional organiser of the Labour Party from Chopwell and became a conscientious objector during World War I.[5] They had three children together.[2]

From 1960, Lewcock represented the Benwell ward on Newcastle City Council. She ceased working as a councillor in 1971.[1]

Lewcock was appointed an OBE in the New Years Honours List in 1966. In 1978 she was asked to come to Westminster Hall in London, where leading politicians were leading celebrations of the suffragists achievements as it was fifty years since all women had the right to vote.[8]

Lewcock died on 11 November 1980 in Newcastle upon Tyne,[1][9] after a fall outside her home.[4]

Oral history

Brian Harrison recorded two oral history interviews with Lewcock, in April 1976 and April 1977, as part of the Suffrage Interviews project, titled Oral evidence on the suffragette and suffragist movements: the Brian Harrison interviews.[10][11][12] In the 1976 interview Lewcock recalls her childhood and her WSPU work, her political interests and her husband. Elsie Wright, the niece and adopted daughter of Joss Craddock, also took part in the 1977 interview in which Lewcock speaks further about Craddock.

Lewcock was featured in a BBC Two clip, discussing suffragette tactics.[13]

Durham County Record Office (DCRO) holds documents relating to Lewcock's life.[4]

Commemoration

In 2018, Lewcock was recognised on a national list of 100 suffrage pioneers by the Women’s Local Government Society.[4][14]

In 2019, a blue plaque commemorating Lewcock was unveiled at her former school, Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Horncastle.[2][3] She is also commemorated too with a plaque on the Local Heroes Walk of Fame along the Newcastle and Gateshead Quayside.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Lewcock [née Ellis], Constance Mary [Connie]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/89853. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ a b c d e "Plaque unveiled in memory of former Horncastle pupil". LincolnshireWorld. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  3. ^ a b "Lewcock, Connie - suffragette". Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. December 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d Sunderland, David (2 May 2018). "County Durham Suffragette Wins National Recognition". Durham Magazine. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  5. ^ a b c Lloyd, Chris (8 June 2018). "Connie Lewcock: The suffragette who committed "the perfect crime" after trying to blow up Durham Cathedral". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  6. ^ Cowman, Krista (15 July 2007). Women of the Right Spirit: Paid Organisers of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), 1904-18. Manchester University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-7190-7002-0.
  7. ^ Markkola, Pirjo; Nevala-Nurmi, Seija-Leena; Sulkunen, Irma (18 December 2008). Suffrage, Gender and Citizenship – International Perspectives on Parliamentary Reforms. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 306. ISBN 978-1-4438-0301-4.
  8. ^ "Former suffragette, Connie Lewcock: 1978, Henry Grant". Museum of London Prints. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  9. ^ Spare Rib. Spare Ribs Limited. 1981. p. 14.
  10. ^ "The Suffrage Interviews". London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  11. ^ Crawford, Elizabeth (2 September 2003). The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866-1928. Routledge. p. 590. ISBN 978-1-135-43401-4.
  12. ^ Hunt, Cathy (11 March 2014). The National Federation of Women Workers, 1906-1921. Springer. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-137-03354-3.
  13. ^ "BBC Two - Bitesize: History, Militant methods used by the suffragettes". BBC. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  14. ^ Kelly, Jo (1 May 2018). "Durham suffragette recognised as pioneer". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
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