Mrs. Beatrice Annie Bayfield another story from Tony Goulding

This is one of those stories which arise from an unintentional discovery while researching something completely unrelated.

I have recently written of this blog of the pioneering female journalist Madeline Alberta Linford; I have now discovered another, and in a quite remarkable coincidence she also lived on Claude Road in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Although perhaps not as illustrious as her fellow writer, Beatrice still has an interesting and important life story to reveal.

 Mrs. Bayfield was born Beatrice Annie Hodgson in the Hulme district of Manchester during October 1867 to   William Hodgson and Mary Ann (née Dawson). Her father was a Lancaster-born butcher who had, as recorded in the 1871 census, a butcher’s shop at 117, Stretford Road, Hulme, Manchester. The 1881 census record shows the family (1) had moved to 17, Moss Lane West, Stretford, Lancashire. A decade later in the census of 1891, William, by then a widower (2) and working as an "inspector of gas”, was living at 101, Crosscliffe Street, Moss Side, Lancashire with four of his children. Interestingly, while her older sister, Jessie Till, was recorded as a schoolmistress no occupation was entered for Beatrice Annie.

23, Beechwood Avenue, December 2023

An explanation of this is revealed by the Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser of Thursday 21st September 1893 which advertised the commencement in its Weekly Supplement of an extremely interesting original story entitled “The Mystery of the Mervyns” by Miss Beatrice A. Hodgson - “a young and accomplished local writer”. 

Beatrice was also very active in the Pankhurst's Women’s Franchise League, addressing many meetings around the greater Manchester area and the West Riding of Yorkshire. She was also a member of the Women’s Liberal Association. Both her advocacy of Women’s Suffrage and her Liberal political persuasion would I hazard to suggest have hampered her having further stories published in the chauvinistic and right leaning “Manchester Courier ------”.

Beatrice married Herbert Bayfield a “buyer foreign shippers” in the Chorlton Registration District during the December quarter of 1897. Newly-married the couple settled in Chorlton-cum-Hardy where they remained throughout the next 40+ years. Their first home was number 29, Whalley Avenue (off Sandy Lane), but the 1901 census shows they had moved to another rented property, 23, Beechwood Avenue, further along Sandy Lane. 

With Herbert, however, having a successful career in shipping (3) by 1911 the couple were able to purchase this large house on the edge of the newly developed garden village of Chorltonville, “Fern Lea”, 61, Claude Road. 

61, Claude Road, December 2023

Meanwhile, Beatrice continued in her endeavours promoting the extension of the franchise and women’s causes generally. She began travelling more widely, addressing meetings in Worcester, Coventry, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire and elsewhere. In the afternoon of Wednesday 6th May 1908, she shared a platform with Margaret Ashton (soon to be elected as Manchester’s first woman councillor) at a meeting in Manchester’s Co-operative Hall chaired by Dr. Rhodes, of Didsbury, to discuss a proposal to provide Nursery Training Schools for the city. (4)  At this time Beatrice styled herself as Mrs Hodgson Bayfield.

     Beatrice remained a life-long Liberal. During the first decade of the 20th century, she had toured giving a series of lectures to local Womens Liberal Associations some of which included a lantern slide show.  

In the 1911 census in which she was recorded as a lecturer and journalist her employer is given as The National Reform Union a body with strong links to the Liberal Party. Later in 1929 she stood, unsuccessfully, as the Liberal Party’s candidate in the Manchester (Gorton) constituency in that year’s General Election. She was one of just 61 women candidates (25 Liberal, 28 Labour and 8 Conservative) to stand in this landmark election, the first in the U.K. in which both sexes had an equal franchise. Beatrice continued her writing career alongside her political one. 

Once women had gained equal franchise with men in 1928, she turned more towards how that should be used to improve women’s lives. In the late 1920s and early 1930s she contributed letters and articles to “The Vote” the Organ of the Women’s Freedom League with the: - 

She also wrote for The Manchester City News whose issue of 13th November 1937 reported that she had penned her first play and was going to produce it herself at St. Werburgh’s Hall, Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The two-act play was titled “Neptune and the Lifeboatmen” with the proceeds donated to the National Lifeboat Institution of which Beatrice was the President of its local Ladies Guild.

Mrs. Bayfield was a member of several public bodies. Amongst these were The Manchester Public Assistance Committee and the Board of the Manchester and Salford Co-operative Society. The membership of this latter body caused her some difficulty when she stood in the Liberal cause in the 1929 election for which she sought advice from the editor and owner of The Manchester Guardian, the fellow Liberal C. P. Scott.

Mrs. Beatrice Annie Hodgson Bayfield died of a heart attack at her home on 17th January 1939 aged 71. She was cremated at the Manchester Crematorium on 20th January. Her estate was valued £524-18s-10d 

Pictures: - Mrs Bayfield candidate for Manchester Gorton from The Vote, April 27th courtesy of British Newspaper Archive, and “Objects----” of THE VOTE, from The Newspaper Archive on Find My Past. Others from collection of Tony Goulding.

Notes: -

1) The Hodgson family consisted of Beatrice Annie’s parents, and four siblings an older sister, Jessie Till, 

2) Beatrice’s mother died on 5th November 1884 and was buried in Ardwick Cemetery, Manchester. In the same grave were interred three of her children who died young William Lincoln (died 5/3/1867 aged 11 months) Ernest Dawson (died 1/12/1868 aged 4 years) and Mary Adelaide (died 1/4/1878 aged 10 months).

3) Herbert’s career appears to have involved widespread frequent travel as for both the 1901 and 1911 censuses he is absent from home. He was at home for the 1921 census in which his occupation is recorded as Managing Director of a Shipping Merchants.

4)  As reported in The Manchester Courier--------, the following day. The sub-heading for their story “Utopian Scheme Discussed” was indicative of “The Courier’s” usual stance on such matters.

While writing about this lady I became aware of how few women had featured in my stories for this blog to date. I am glad that this and my recent telling of Madeline Linford’s story have at least addressed this imbalance.