Parliamentary Committee for Women's Suffrage Archive

PCWS

Parliamentary Committee for Women's Suffrage Archive

1892-1903

Most material in the archive dates from 1892 to 1903 although the bulk of the material relates only to the period before Temple's death. The material appears to have been compiled and/or collected by Mary Cozens and PCWS/1/3 and PCWS/1/4, in particular, appear to be her personal journals/scrapbooks of events.

The archive consists of (so called) minute books, annual reports and other, mostly printed, material relating to the Parliamentary Committee and the campaign for women's suffrage.

There are also 2 items, dated 1923, which relate to the transfer of the archive to the John Rylands Library.

Archivist's note: the archive consists of 7 classes as follows:

PCWS/1 Minute Books, 1895-1901

PCWS/2 Annual Reports, 1894-1902

PCWS/3 Other Reports, 1899

PCWS/4 Items Pertaining to Membership and Constitution, 1894-1903

PCWS/5 Miscellaneous Publications of the Parliamentary Committee, 1892-1897 and n.d

PCWS/6 Miscellaneous Items Collected by the Parliamentary Committee, 1892-1903 and n.d

PCWS/7 Items Relating to the Transfer of the Archive to the John Rylands Library, 1923.

Within each class the items have been arranged in chronological order, with undated items placed at the end.

It should be noted that offprints, handbills, leaflets and pamphlets, have frequently been placed in order according to the date of the original letter, article or speech which they reproduce, this being the only date recorded; the lapse of time before publication is unknown.

<p>The Library also holds archives of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies and the Manchester Men's League for Women's Suffrage. See also the correspondence of C.P. Scott with Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst within the Guardian Archive. There are also a number of women's suffrage journals. Readers may find it useful to consult Margaret Barrow Women 1870-1928: A Select Guide to Printed and Archival Sources in the United Kingdom (London: Mansell, 1981), a copy of which is held at the Main Library.</p>

English

7 series

The archive was given to the John Rylands Library in 1923 by Margaret E. Ridley.

The Parliamentary Committee for Women's Suffrage was founded on 18 December 1893. The Committee's raison d'être was to secure the Parliamentary Franchise for women and, in pursuit of this objective, its members supported the passage of all pertinent bills and amendments and maintained regular communication with members of both Houses of Parliament. The Committee had offices in Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, South West London.

The Parliamentary Committee began life as a non-party organisation but in 1897 it became Conservative. Membership was open to anyone who supported and subscribed to their aims and a minority of its members were M.P.s. In the first year of its existence its members included 16 M.P.s and this number was to rise to 31 by 1897 before falling to 18 by 1901.

From the inception of the Parliamentary Committee in 1893 to his death 9 years later, its President was Sir Richard Temple, M.P. (1826-1902) and the Honorary Secretary during this period was Mary Cozens. Subsequently Mr B.L. Cohen, M.P. became President.

Despite its name, the Parliamentary Committee does not appear to have had any official links with the Government.