In Women's History Month we take a look at Preston's trailblazing sufragette Edith Rigby
But take a walk through Preston's parks and you will see a few tell tale signs that it wasn't always thus. Look closely at the Lord Derby statue, on the steps at Miller Park, and you will see century old tar marks, from a time the monument was daubed with a 'Votes For Women' poster.
Some consider her to be a terrorist, trouble maker and rebel, but for most she is considered to be one of the most influential sisters in Preston's history. The new Preston West distributor road is named after her and an approved premises, aimed at rehabilitating female offenders, fittingly bears her name.
Like many middle class couples of their time, Edith and Charles had servants to help them care for their expansive home in Preston's leafy neighbourhood - but the couple took a modern approach to their status as employers. Unlike their peers, they did not expect their staff to wear uniforms, instead treating the servants as equals and inviting them to join them at the dinner table.
But in 1907, Edith had her first taste of prison. Putting the sufragette motto of 'Deeds not Words' into action, she was one of 57 women arrested when they charged at the gates of Parliament, brandishing their petitions like torches. Edith broke both her wrists and her thumbs were bent back during her arrest, but it was a small price to pay for the modern freedoms she was fighting for.
Edith later claimed to have set fire to the home of Lord Lever at Rivington, casuing an estimated £20,000 of damage, at a time she knew he had a dinner engagement elsewhere.
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