Women from Wakefield have been at the forefront of national campaigns to prevent blindness, improve care and provide education and opportunities for blind and partially sighted people.
Among them were Emily Esther Fennell (1848–1935) and Edith Wright (1856–1935), who attended the inaugural meeting of the newly established Wakefield Blind Society in 1869.
Wakefield Women Leading the Way in Medical Reform
In 1912, Wakefield made ophthalmia neonatorum a notifiable disease. This is an infection of the eyes of new-born babies that can lead to blindness. It was three years before the national government followed suit.
The people behind this important change in public health? Women from Wakefield.
Women from Wakefield have been at the vanguard of national campaigns to:
- prevent blindness from birth,
- provide home-based programmes of care,
- create benevolence funds, and
- train blind and partially sighted people from across the nation in specialist cane-working skills.
They also worked to provide education, libraries, concerts, and holidays for people who might otherwise have been unable to access such experiences. For nearly 160 years, Wakefield women have been at the forefront of medical, political and social change to benefit blind and partially sighted people.
The Founding of the Wakefield Blind Society in 1869
‘Help them to help themselves, teach them to read’
It was early spring of 1869. Two young women, 21-year-old Emily Esther Fennell and 13-year-old Edith Wright, attended the inaugural meeting of the ‘newly instituted Wakefield Blind Society’. It took place in the Barrister’s Room at Wakefield Courthouse.
There, they met and heard Mr William Moon speak. Mr Moon had developed a system to enable blind people to read.
He spoke passionately about his printed books:
‘which consisted of nine different characters only, formed of straight lines, curves, angles and loops and which had been successfully introduced into 38 different languages.’
His inspirational work and words moved both young women deeply.
Sir Charles Lowther and the Moon Type Library
At that meeting, Sir Charles Hugh Lowther, 3rd Baronet of Swillington (1803–1894), made an impressive pledge. Having lost his sight during infancy following an attack of scarlet fever. Having been a pupil of Mr Moon, Sir Charles pledged to donate 200 volumes of ‘Moon type’ books to the newly formed society. This was on condition that its members pledged, in turn, to continue transcribing and printing books for blind readers.
As a childhood friend of Edith’s father, Thomas Giordani Wright M.D., Sir Charles had been working with Dr Wright. He now set out his vision for Wakefield. He urged the town to follow in the footsteps of the York Wilberforce School for the Blind.
Sir Charles was influential nationally. He worked with Maria Louisa Richardson-Gardner, whose family had been instrumental in establishing institutions for the blind across the country through regular funding. Sir Charles remained a friend to both Emily Fennell and, later, Edith Wright throughout their lives.
He helped establish the Gardner’s Trust in 1882, following a series of legal challenges to the trustees of the Gardner family. Wakefield benefited from that friendship. The legacy of the Gardner’s Trust continues to support blind people throughout the UK today.
Turning a Generous Offer into Practical Help
‘Sir Charles desired that the Bible, or some portion of it, should be placed in the hands of every blind person in Yorkshire… He made an offer to the meeting that they might have as many books as would form a library, but he did not promise a teacher or any other support.’
One might think that the journalist reporting Sir Charles’s generous offer was a woman! One can almost read the subtext of the report, the tone of which was clear. ‘That’s all very well,’ the writer is thinking. ‘But where are we going to house these books, and how are they going to be made accessible? What do you mean you want a printing press? Where is that going to go? And who is going to teach blind people if we have no one who knows your system? And who, Sir, is going to pay for all of this?’
As our research into other Forgotten Women of Wakefield has shown time and again, women were often the ones who answered the call. They came up with the answers and provided the means, networks and dedication needed to turn philanthropic ideas into reality. They came up with the answers and provided the means, networks and dedication to bring all sorts of philanthropic ideas to fruition.
Emily Esther Fennell: Keeping the Work Going in Wakefield
Emily Esther Fennell played an important part in maintaining and developing the work of the Wakefield Blind Society. Edith Wright travelled around Britain and abroad to promote their ideas. Meanwhile, Emily appears to have been a driving force behind the work taking place closer to home.
Emily was also a talented artist in her own right. Her sister was Louisa Fennell, the celebrated Wakefield watercolourist whose paintings recorded many of the city’s historic buildings and streets. Emily shared the family’s artistic talents, producing decorative artwork including painted fans. She even won a fan-painting competition, in which her artist sister Louisa came second.
Emily’s work for blind and partially sighted people became an important part of her life. But her artistic achievements provide another glimpse of a remarkable Wakefield woman whose story deserves recognition.
Edith Wright: Taking Wakefield’s Ideas Further Afield
Edith Wright took the ideas and experience developed in Wakefield to a much wider audience. In 1906, she became organising secretary of the Northern Union of Institutions. She helped to bring organisations together and encourage improvements in services for blind people. Later in life, she travelled throughout Britain and abroad to promote better opportunities and support for blind and partially sighted people. She kept her affection for Wakefield, and her letters were frequently published in the local newspaper.
Edith spent her final years in Harrogate. Her funeral took place in Wakefield Cathedral in 1935, followed by her burial in Thornes.
Despite her many years of work, our researchers were unable to find an obituary for Edith, even in the local newspapers. It seems a particularly poignant omission for a woman who had devoted so much of her life to improving opportunities for others.
Beyond Braille: Celebrating Emily Fennell and Edith Wright
That’s a wrap on our Historic England Beyond Braille project! And what a way to finish! Our wonderful Mayor, Councillor Maureen Tennant King, and her consort joined us for an entertaining and informative Round Our Way Heritage Walk. Also attending were the inspiring Hayley Grocock, CEO of Wakefield District Sight Aid, and her dedicated team, along with dear friends and followers of our walks and talks, both new and old.
Huge thanks must go to Rich and Fancy Cupcakes and Coffee Shop for the amazing cakes. And CoffeeWrite Wakefield for hosting us.
Our thanks also go to the Round Our Way Heritage Walks team. They worked tirelessly from the very beginning, alongside other notable Dream Time Creative volunteers. The indomitable Helga Fox guided the researchers, and without her the scaffolding of research would not have existed.
We are so very proud of this project and of Emily Fennell and Edith Wright. Two Forgotten Women whose stories have now taken their rightful place in Wakefield’s history.
A Blue Plaque Application for Emily Fennell and Edith Wright
Our application for a Historic England blue plaque was unsuccessful. But we remain determined to commemorate Emily Fennell and Edith Wright and their remarkable contribution to the lives of blind and partially sighted people.
Forgotten Women of Wakefield plans to fund a blue plaque in their honour. Our current fundraising priority is a sculpture commemorating Wakefield suffragist Florence Beaumont. This is planned for 2028 to mark the centenary of women gaining equal voting rights with men.
Once we secure funding for that project, we plan to turn our attention to Emily and Edith’s plaque. We hope to unveil it later in 2028 or during 2029. Their achievements deserve to be remembered. We look forward to giving these two remarkable Wakefield women the recognition they deserve.
Press and Further Information
Community Research Grants | National Blue Plaque Scheme | Historic England
Wakefield District Sight Aid | News
Wakefield women: pioneering advocates for the blind
Forgotten Women of Wakefield projects bags Historic England funding for research