Dorinda Neligan (original) (raw)
Sections
- Red Cross Nurse
- Croydon High School for Girls
- Women's Suffrage
- Black Friday
- Tax Resistance League
- Primary Sources
- Student Activities
- References
Dorinda Neligan was the fifth child of Elizabeth Spiller (1794-1864) and Lieutenant Thomas Neligan (1790-1856) who was born in Cork on 9th June 1833. Her father, who served as an officer in the British Army, and had fought during the Peninsula War (1808-1814), seeing action at Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, and Salamanca. (1)
Thomas Neligan brought up his "large family under conditions of the strictest frugality and discipline." (2) Neligan was educated at home, in France and Germany and she went on to work as a "finishing governess". (3)
In 1860 Miss Neligan left home to make her own way in the world. She acquired a thorough knowledge of the French and German languages, and on her return to England she earned a precarious livelihood as a governess in private families, and not infrequently, as she used to tell her friends, she found herself without the means of purchasing a meal." (4)
Red Cross Nurse
In 1870, Dorinda Neligan trained as a nurse at Charing Cross Hospital. According to Major John C. Burgess: "The lady (Miss Neligan) who had voluntarily gone into training at Charing Cross Hospital had been there for about three weeks. She had looked at once at the office to report that she had been present at an operation, without wincing. She had come again in tears. She had broken down at the first dressing after an amputation, and feared that her nerve might not serve her as she hoped, and that she must give up the wish to help in the good work. But determination stood her in good stead. The next day she had decided to go on. At the end of three weeks, Dr. Pollock reported that Miss Neligan's nerve, determination and intelligence were excellent, and he considered that she might be allowed to go to the front as a hospital nurse." (5)
In August 1870 she was one of six female British nurses who served with the Red Cross in France during the Franco-Prussian War. Neligan was in sole charge of the wounded during the siege at Metz. In direct contravention of orders, she personally sawed up a supply of wooden desks, found in the basement of the makeshift hospital, for fuel to keep the frozen men warm. On her return to England she was decorated with the Red Cross medal. (6)
Dorinda Neligan took up teaching, and for a short time conducted a private school in partnership with Celestine Cassal (born c.1834), a "Teacher of Languages" who originated from the French region of Alsace. The school was based at No. 3 College Villas, Finchley New Road, South Hampstead, North London. The partnership between the two schoolmistresses was dissolved on 12th September 1873. (7)
Croydon High School for Girls
In 1874 the Council of the Girls' Public Day School Company, a foundation created by four suffragists, needed to appoint a headmistress for the school which they were about to establish at Croydon. They decided to appoint Dorinda Neligan to the post. As the The Croydon Times pointed out: "The experiment of appointing one who had previously had a little experience of organised education to an important educational post may have appeared to some to be a somewhat hazardous experiment but the selection of the Council was fully justified by the event… The newly-appointed headmistress soon made it apparent that she was as capable of applying her high qualities to the education of the young as she had been of using them for the breaking and consolation of the sick." (8)
When the Croydon High School for Girls was established in September 1874, in North End, it only had 88 pupils. By 1875 the number of pupils had risen to 123 and by 1879 the school had 175 pupils on roll. By 1879, 230 pupils moved to purpose-built premises. (9) On 12th July, 1879, Archbishop Archibald Tait laid the foundation stone of the building in Wellesley Road, and from 1880 onwards, in the new quarters, the school continued increasingly to flourish and abound. "Miss Neligan was able not only to create out of a heterogeneous assembly of girls a well-organised and efficient school, but to breathe into her creation a goodly portion of her vigorous vitality, and her own ardent and enthusiastic spirit." (10)
Josephine Kamm, in her book, Indicative Past: A Hundred Years of Girls Public School Trust (2013): "Keen-faced and blue-eyed, Miss Neligan... showed a distinctive taste in dress: she always wore a lace mantilla over her head and shoulders in school and almost always a black silk dress. Personality and natural intelligence, practical ability and a sense of humour combined with a beautiful and effective speaking voice were Dorinda Neligan's chief assets. She also had a highly developed sense of justice and plenty of moral and physical courage." (11)
In 1881 Dorinda Neligan was residing at a house in Wellesley Road, Croydon, the location of the newly constructed High School for Girls. On the 1881 Census return, 47-year-old Dorinda Neligan gives her occupation as "Head Mistress of High School for Girls". Residing with Miss Neligan at the house in Wellesley Road was her aunt, Jane Spiller, the younger sister of her mother; a niece, 23-year-old Emily M. Julian, who was employed as a teacher at Croydon High School for Girls; and four domestic servants - a housekeeper, a cook and two housemaids. (12)
Croydon High was the first school in the local area to educate girls. Neligan believed that girls should be taught science and in 1885, chemistry was introduced to the curriculum. At first no practical work was allowed as it was considered too dangerous, but later a science demonstration room, forerunner of the laboratories, was built. Although the pupils did not wear a uniform, by 1896 moderately short skirts were allowed for those girls who attended Swedish drill classes. However, the gym mistress had to wear a long raincoat over her tunic when moving around the school. (13)
Women's Suffrage
Dorinda Neligan was a strong supporter of women's suffrage. In 1894 she joined the Women's Emancipation Union (WEU), an organisation founded by Elizabeth Wolstenholme-Elmy. The WEU claimed for women: "Equality of right and duty with men in all matters affecting the service of the community and of the State. Equality of opportunity for self-development by the education of the schools and of life. Equality in industry by equal freedom of choice of career. Equality in marriage and equality of parental rights." The WEU wanted the parliamentary vote for women on the same terms as men, "for as at once the security for what measure of justice has already been achieved, the leverage by which further reforms can be most speedily effected, and the efficient mechanism by which that womanly and motherly influence, as necessary in the great household of the nation as in the lesser group of the family, can be brought to bear upon the stirring social and political problems of the time." (14)
In 1900 Dorinda Neligan joined the Central Society of the National Society for Women's Suffrage and in 1909 the Women's Social & Political Union (WSPU). She was also a member of Women's Freedom League and the Church League for Women's Suffrage and a patron of Actresses' Franchise League. Her sister, Annie Neligan, was a member of committee of the Croydon branch of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. (15)
On 29th June, 1909, Dorinda Neligan, was chosen along with Emmeline Pankhurst, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Edith Mansell Moullin, Eveline Haverfield, Maud Joachim and Catherine Corbett, to be a member of a deputation to the House of Commons. "In anticipation of a general disturbance nearly 3,000 police had been drafted from all parts of London with Rochester Row and Cannon Row stations as early as five o'clock in the afternoon... Inspector Scantlebury handed her (Mrs Pankhurst) a message from the Premier's private secretary, stating that it was not possible for Mr Asquith to see them, as he had already expressed the opinion upon the subject.... A long conversation ensued, and then a scrimmage, during which Inspector Jarvis was rather roughly handled. Mrs Pankhurst it is alleged, striking him violently on the face with her hand. Immediately the police closed round the women, who were taken into custody, struggling violently." (16) Neligan was arrested for refusing to go away. (17)
Black Friday
In January 1910, H. H. Asquith called a general election in order to obtain a new mandate. However, the Liberals lost votes and was forced to rely on the support of the 42 Labour Party MPs to govern. Henry Brailsford, a member of the Men's League For Women's Suffrage wrote to Millicent Fawcett, the leader of the National Union of Woman's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), suggesting that he should attempt to establish a Conciliation Committee for Women's Suffrage. "My idea is that it should undertake the necessary diplomatic work of promoting an early settlement". (18)
Emmeline Pankhurst, the leader of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) agreed to the idea and they declared a truce in which all militant activities would cease until the fate of the Conciliation Bill was clear. A Conciliation Committee, composed of 36 MPs (25 Liberals, 17 Conservatives, 6 Labour and 6 Irish Nationalists) all in favour of some sort of women's enfranchisement, was formed and drafted a Bill which would have enfranchised only a million women but which would, they hoped, gain the support of all but the most dedicated anti-suffragists. (19) Millicent Fawcett wrote that "personally many suffragists would prefer a less restricted measure, but the immense importance and gain to our movement is getting the most effective of all the existing franchises thrown upon to woman cannot be exaggerated." (20)
The Conciliation Bill was designed to conciliate the suffragist movement by giving a limited number of women the vote, according to their property holdings and marital status. After a two-day debate in July 1910, the Conciliation Bill was carried by 109 votes and it was agreed to send it away to be amended by a House of Commons committee. However, when Keir Hardie, the leader of the Labour Party, requested two hours to discuss the Conciliation Bill, H. H. Asquith made it clear that he intended to shelve it. (21)
Emmeline Pankhurst was furious at what she saw as Asquith's betrayal and on 18th November, 1910, arranged to lead 300 women from a pre-arranged meeting at the Caxton Hall to the House of Commons. Pankhurst and a small group of WSPU members, including Dorinda Neligan, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Louisa Garrett Anderson, Sophia Duleep Singh and Anne Cobden Sanderson were allowed into the building. (22)
Asquith refused to see them and women, in "detachments of twelve" marched forward but were attacked by the police. (23) Votes for Women reported that 159 women and three men were arrested during this demonstration. (24) This included Ada Wright, Catherine Marshall, Eveline Haverfield, Anne Cobden Sanderson, Mary Leigh, Vera Holme, Louisa Garrett Anderson, Kitty Marion, Gladys Evans, Cecilia Wolseley Haig, Maud Arncliffe Sennett, Clara Giveen, Eileen Casey, Patricia Woodcock, Vera Wentworth, Winifred Mayo, Mary Clarke, Florence Canning, Henria Williams, Lilian Dove-Wilcox, Minnie Turner, Bertha Brewster, Charlotte Haig, Lucy Burns and Grace Roe. (25)
Sylvia Pankhurst later described what happened on what became known as Black Friday: "As, one after the other, small deputations of twelve women appeared in sight they were set upon by the police and hurled aside. Mrs Cobden Sanderson, who had been in the first deputation, was rudely seized and pressed against the wall by the police, who held her there by both arms for a considerable time, sneering and jeering at her meanwhile.... Just as this had been done, I saw Miss Ada Wright close to the entrance. Several police seized her, lifted her from the ground and flung her back into the crowd. A moment afterwards she appeared again, and I saw her running as fast as she could towards the House of Commons. A policeman struck her with all his force and she fell to the ground. For a moment there was a group of struggling men round the place where she lay, then she rose up, only to be flung down again immediately. Then a tall, grey-headed man with a silk hat was seen fighting to protect her; but three or four police seized hold of him and bundled him away. Then again, I saw Miss Ada Wright's tall, grey-clad figure, but over and over again she was flung to the ground, how often I cannot say. It was a painful and degrading sight. At last, she was lying against the wall of the House of Lords, close to the Strangers' Entrance, and a number of women, with pale and distressed faces were kneeling down round her. She was in a state of collapse." (26)
Several women reported that the police dragged women down the side streets. "We knew this always meant greater ill-usage.... The police snatched the flags, tore them to shreds, and smashed the sticks, struck the women with fists and knees, knocked them down, some even kicked them, then dragged them up, carried them a few paces and flung them into the crowd of sightseers." (27) Miss Neligan was arrested for allegedly "assaulting a police constable" that day, but no charges were brought. (28)
The photograph of Ada Wright on the front page of The Daily Mirror the next day caused a great deal of embarrassment to the Home Office and the government demanded that the negative be destroyed. (29) Wright told a reporter that she had been at seven suffragette demonstrations, but had "never known the police so violent." (30) Charles Mansell-Moullin, who had helped treat the wounded claimed that the police had used "organised bands of well-dressed roughs who charged backwards and forwards through the deputations like a football team without any attempt being made to stop them by the police." (31)
The front page of The Daily Mirror that showed the attack on Ada Wright (19 November 1910)
Sylvia Pankhurst believed that Winston Churchill, the Home Secretary, had encouraged this show of force. "Never, in all the attempts which we have made to carry our deputations to the Prime Minister, have I seen so much bravery on the part of the women and so much violent brutality on the part of the policeman in uniform and some men in plain clothes. It was at the same time a gallant and a heart-breaking sight to see those little deputations battling against overwhelming odds, and then to see them torn asunder and scattered, bruised and battered, against the organized gangs of rowdies. Happily, there were many true-hearted men in the crowd who tried to help the women, and who raised their hats and cheered them as they fought. I found out during the evening that the picked men of the A Division, who had always hitherto been called out on such occasions, were this time only on duty close to the House of Commons and at the police station, and that those with whom the women chiefly came into contact had been especially brought in from the outlying districts. During our conflicts with the A Division they had gradually come to know us, and to understand our aims and objects, and for that reason, whilst obeying their orders, they came to treat the women, as far as possible, with courtesy and consideration. But these men with whom we had to deal on Friday were ignorant and ill-mannered, and of an entirely different type. They had nothing of the correct official manner, and were to be seen laughing and jeering at the women whom they maltreated." (32)
Tax Resistance League
Dora Montefiore suggested that women should refuse to pay their taxes until they were granted the vote. Outside her home she placed a banner that read: “Women should vote for the laws they obey and the taxes they pay.” As she explained: "I was doing this because the mass of non-qualified women could not demonstrate in the same way, and I was to that extent their spokeswoman. It was the crude fact of women’s political disability that had to be forced on an ignorant and indifferent public, and it was not for any particular Bill or Measure or restriction that I was putting myself to this loss and inconvenience by refusing year after year to pay income tax, until forced to do so by the powers behind the Law."
This resulted in her Hammersmith home being besieged by bailiffs for six weeks. "Towards the end of June, the time was approaching when, according to information brought in from outside the Crown had the power to break open my front door and seize my goods for distraint. I consulted with friends and we agreed that as this was a case of passive resistance, nothing could be done when that crisis came but allow the goods to be distrained without using violence on our part. When, therefore, at the end of those weeks the bailiff carried out his duties, he again moved what he considered sufficient goods to cover the debt and the sale was once again carried out at auction rooms in Hammersmith. A large number of sympathisers were present, but the force of twenty-two police which the Government considered necessary to protect the auctioneer during the proceedings was never required, because again we agreed that it was useless to resist force majeure when it came to technical violence on the part of, the authorities." (33)
On 22nd October 1909 when the Women's Freedom League (WFL) established the Women's Tax Resistance League (WTRL). (34) The first member to take part in the campaign was Dr. Octavia Lewin. It was reported in The Daily Chronicle that the "First Passive' Resister", was was to be taken to court. It was announced in the same report that "the Women's Freedom League intends to organise a big passive resistance movement as a weapon in the fight for the franchise." (35)
The motto adopted by the Women's Tax Resistance League was "No Vote No Tax". According to Elizabeth Crawford, the author of The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866-1928 (2000): "When bailiffs seized goods belonging to women in lieu of tax, the WTRL made the ensuing sale the occasion for a public or open-air meeting in order to spread the principles of women's suffrage and to rouse public opinion to the injustice of non-representation meted out on tax-paying women." (36)
Dorinda Neligan was a Tax Resister for several years; "the fact became so well known that one of the local papers, in giving an account of her last sale, headed it "Miss Neligan's Hardy Annual", and another "No Surrender". It was always the same silver teapot that was sold." (37)
Dorinda Neligan of Oakwood House, 5 Sydenham Road, Croydon, Surrey, died on 18th July 1914 at the age of 81. She left effects valued at £2,166. 8s. 6d. which she left to her surviving sister, Annie Neligan. (38)
Primary Sources
(1) Major John C. Burgess, The Illustrated Naval and Military Magazine: Volume One (1884)
The lady (Miss Neligan) who had voluntarily gone into training at Charing Cross Hospital had been there for about three weeks. She had looked at once at the office to report that she had been present at an operation, without wincing. She had come again in tears. She had broken down at the first dressing after an amputation, and feared that her nerve might not serve her as she hoped, and that she must give up the wish to help in the good work. But determination stood her in good stead. The next day she had decided to go on. At the end of three weeks, Dr. Pollock reported that Miss Neligan's nerve, determination and intelligence were excellent, and he considered that she might be allowed to go to the front as a hospital nurse.
(2) The Daily Mirror (30th June 1909)
Thousands of people gathered in Parliament Square and thronged the approaches to the Houses of Parliament long before the expected suffragette deputation to the House of Commons left Caxton Hall last night.
In anticipation of a general disturbance nearly 3,000 police had been drafted from all parts of London with Rochester Row and Cannon Row stations as early as five o'clock in the afternoon.
The meeting at Caxton Hall which prefaced the raid began at 7.30. The hall was packed with suffragettes, wearing scarves and ribbons and sashes of purple, white, and green, the colours of the Women's Social and Political Union.
Mrs Pethick Lawrence was in the chair and Mrs Pankhurst and the other members of the chosen deputation – limited to eight women – supported her on the platform. The deputation that ultimately set out consisted of: Mrs Pankhurst, Mrs Mansell, Mrs Saul Soloman, Miss Catherine Margenson, Mrs Haverfield, Dorinda Neligan, Miss Maude Joachim and Mrs Frank Corbett.
Of the above Mrs Pankhurst is of course, one of the original leaders of the militant suffragettes. Mrs Mansell, the wife of Colonel Mansell, is a granddaughter of the late Lord Wimborne and the first cousin of Mr. Ivor Guest, M. P. one of the founders of the Anti-Suffrage League.
Mrs Saul Solomon is the widow of a former Premier of Cape Colony, Miss Margesson is a daughter of Lady Isabel Margeson, Miss Joachim, a niece of the famous violinist, and the Hon Mrs Haverfield, a daughter of the third Lord Abinger.
Mrs Corbett is a sister-in-law of Mr C. H. Corbett, M.P., Miss Neligan is seventy-nine years of age…
Inspector Scantlebury handed her (Mrs Pankhurst) a message from the Premier's private secretary, stating that it was not possible for Mr Asquith to see them, as he had already expressed the opinion upon the subject.
"We can't accept that!" exclaimed Mrs Pankhurst, and immediately afterwards endeavoured to push the two inspectors away. "If we can't get anything else we must assert our rights."
A long conversation ensued, and then a scrimmage, during which Inspector Jarvis was rather roughly handled. Mrs Pankhurst it is alleged, striking him violently on the face with her hand.
Immediately the police closed round the women, who were taken into custody, struggling violently.
(3) The Croydon Times (22nd July 1914)
Since her retirement from the school, Miss Neligan, who lived with her sister Miss Annie Neligan and a niece at Oakwood House, Sydenham Road, Croydon, had devoted herself mainly to suffrage work in which, like her sister, she was intensely interested. The late Miss Neligan was associated with the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies from the commencement of the Croydon branch, and she was also a member of the Women's Tax Resistance League, having on more than one occasion had her goods sold by public auction, because of her refusal to pay taxes. Of later years Miss Neligan's sympathies turned in the direction of the WSPU, although she never took part in any act of violence. On one occasion, however, she was arrested with Mrs Pankhurst, the charge being one of obstruction arising out of a deputation to Mr. Asquith.
Miss Neligan, who was a Protestant, was an ardent Home Ruler, and up to within a short time of her death, she followed the course of the present events with keen interest. She was of Liberal persuasion, but owing to what she considered the unjust dealing of the Government with the women, she did not take an active part in party political matters. Other organisations with which the deceased lady was connected were the Croydon Guild of Help and the Humanitarian League.
Heart trouble had affected Miss Neligan for a long time past, and her death on Saturday evening was due to acute bronchitis, following heart disease. On the 9th of the last month, Miss Neligan celebrated her 81 st birthday.
In accordance with her own wishes, Miss Neligan will be cremated at Golders Green on Thursday, and afterwards the remains will be laid to rest in Queen's Road cemetery. A memorial service will be probably held at the Croydon Parish Church, where Miss Neligan was a worshipper.
(4) ****The Croydon Times (25th July 1914)**
Dorinda Neligan was born in 1833. Her father had been an officer in the British Army, and had taken part in the sieges of Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo, and in the battle of Salamanca. He lived in the country near Cork, and brought up his large family under conditions of the strictest frugality and discipline.
In 1860 Miss Neligan left home to make her own way in the world. In France and Germany she acquired a thorough knowledge of the French and German languages, and on her return to England she earned a precarious livelihood as a governess in private families, and not infrequently, as she used to tell her friends, she found herself without the means of purchasing a meal. In 1870, owing to her knowledge of languages, she was selected as a nurse in the Franco-Prussian war. After six months training at Charing Cross Hospital, she started for the seat of war. She was at Metz and Sedan, and she spent two days in Paris, and heard the first shots fired in the struggle with the Communists. On her return to England she was decorated with the Red Cross medal. She again took up teaching, and for a short time conducted a private school in partnership with another lady.
When the time cause for the Council of the Girls' Public Day School Company to appoint a headmistress for the school which they were about to establish at Croydon, they made a happy choice in the selection of Dorinda Neligan. At that period the movement for the higher education of women was in its infancy, and the field of candidates who were fitted by education and training to occupy the position was far more restricted than it would be at the present day. The time when women were to win the highest academical distinctions had not yet arrived. The old ideal of graceful deportment and elegant accomplishments was passing away, but the substitution of a more solid training and a sounder type of education was only just beginning.
The headmistress to whom the Council entrusted the task of establishing their school at Croydon had had no opportunity of taking university honours, or of being trained in any large educational institution. But in another sphere of action she had proved that she possessed in a high degree many of the qualities which go to the making of an efficient school mistress.
In the war Miss Neligan had left her country and devoted all her energies to the care of the sick and wounded soldiers of the German Army. It was the enthusiasm, vigor, patience, tact, good sense and sympathy that she showed in the discharge of her onerous and trying task, which attracted the attention of the Council, and led them to think that in Dorinda Neligan they had found the right person to start their school.
The experiment of appointing one who had previously had a little experience of organised education to an important educational post may have appeared to some to be a somewhat hazardous experiment but the selection of the Council was fully justified by the event… The newly-appointed headmistress soon made it apparent that she was as capable of applying her high qualities to the education of the young as she had been of using them for the breaking and consolation of the sick.
The school was opened in 1874 in a house in North End, which very soon became inadequate to the accommodation of the numbers of those who desired to attend. On July 12 th , 1879, Archbishop Tait laid the foundation stone of the building in Wellesley Road, and from 1880 onwards, in the new quarters, the school continued increasingly to flourish and abound… Full of enthusiasm, tempered by common sense, intensely earnest in the performance of all her duties, endowed with an indomitable strength of will, and an imperturbable tenacity of purpose, which those around her soon found it was futile to resist, Miss Neligan was able not only to create out of a heterogeneous assembly of girls a well-organised and efficient school, but to breathe into her creation a goodly portion of her vigorous vitality, and her own ardent and enthusiastic spirit.
These cannot perhaps be a better summary of her character than that implied in the words of one of her pupils: "We had a whole-some fear of Miss Neligan, and never dared do anything of which she disapproved – and we loved her with all our hearts.
(5) ****The Vote (7th August 1914)**
The following particulars of the life of a great woman will be read with deep interest, tinged with the regret that so staunch a supporter of the Women's Movement did not live to register her vote as a badge of citizenship.
Miss Darinda Neligan, who passed away on July 18 at the age of 81, when a daughter of the late Lieutenant Thomas Neligan of Cork, who served in the Peninsula War, Miss Neligan served as a Red Cross nurse in the Franco-German War in 1870. She spent some years both in France and Germany as a governess and obtained a French diploma. It was her great knowledge of modern languages which helped to secure for her the appointment as Head Mistress of the Croydon High School for Girls in 1874, which position she held for 27 years.
She always took a keen interest in the higher education of women, and it was natural she should become a strong suffragist. On June 29, 1909, she went on a deputation to the House of Commons and was arrested for refusing to go away. In November of the following year, she went on another deputation to the House of Commons, the Black Friday memorable deputation. She succeeded in entering the yard of the House and sat for some hours with Mrs Pankhurst and others on the steps of the Strangers' Entrance. She went with the deputation, as she was afraid, she might be a hinderance to the others in their rush to Downing Street. She always regretted the fact that she had not been to prison for the Cause.
Miss Neligan was a Tax Resister for several years; the fact became so well known that one of the local papers, in giving an account of her last sale, headed it "Miss Neligan's Hardy Annual", and another "No Surrender". It was always the same silver teapot that was sold.
When she sent her last subscription to the WSPU for the great meeting at Holland Park Skating Rink a friend said to her supposing you are prosecuted for subscribing to the funds of the WSPU and sent to prison". She replied: "Let them; I do not mind!"
Her last illness was a very short one. She had a heart attack on Friday afternoon, July 17, on her way home from lunching with a friend. After lying down on her bed. She seemed better, but afterwards became worse; and the doctor was called in. The next morning, before breakfast, she declared she was getting on famously and kept very bright during the evening, and she passed away at 8.30 p.m.
Among the many wreaths sent was one from the Headquarters of the WSPU with the following message attached from Mrs Pankhurst: "With love and remembrance for a brave veteran, whose life was spent in noble work for women and for the race." There were also lilies from the Croydon WSPU, and a wreath from the Croydon Branch of the Women's Freedom League.
(6) ****Josephine Kamm, Indicative Past: A Hundred Years of Girls Public School Trust (2013)**
The Headmistress of Croydon High School, Miss Dorinda Neligan, was an excellent choice, although she had no previous teaching experience. The daughter of an Army officer who had served in the Peninsular War, Miss Neligan had herself served with the Red Cross in France during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 and had been left in sole charge at Metz during the siege. Keen-faced and blue-eyed, Miss Neligan like Miss Jones showed a distinctive taste in dress: she always wore a lace mantilla over her head and shoulders in school and almost always a black silk dress. Personality and natural intelligence, practical ability and a sense of humour combined with a beautiful and effective speaking voice were Dorinda Neligan's chief assets. She also had a highly developed sense of justice and plenty of moral and physical courage. These qualities carried her successfully through twenty-seven years as headmistress of Croydon and on into old age when, incensed at the long delay in giving women the vote, she became a militant Suffragette. On one occasion she protested by refusing to pay her rates: her silver teapot was distrained but redeemed and return to her by the grateful parent of one of her former pupils. On another occasion she assaulted a policeman but was not sent to prison, presumably because of her age.
(7) ****Fran Cook, Dorinda Neligan (June, 2022)**
I have often wondered what Dorinda would have thought about ‘her' school, if she were somehow able to visit us today. I honestly think she would be extremely proud.
The school she founded began in a very small way and only 88 pupils were on the roll when Croydon High School opened in September 1874. The numbers increased rapidly (an excellent Admissions and Marketing department clearly) and some six years later 230 pupils moved to purpose-built premises in Wellesley Road, Croydon.
Miss Dorinda Neligan was a formidable character. She had served with the Red Cross in France during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 where legend has it, she was left in sole charge of the wounded at Metz. I am sure she would have enjoyed sharing some of her stories with Mrs Bloxsome, whose room also feels like a field hospital sometimes! She remained Head of Croydon High for twenty seven years and after retirement, so incensed at the long delay in giving women the vote, she became a militant suffragette. On one occasion, she protested by refusing to pay her rates and on another she assaulted a policeman but escaped prison presumably because of her age! We know that this sense of justice and equality of opportunity has been passed down through the generations of Croydon High girls – although of course we always stress the importance of operating within the law!
How proud Miss Neligan would have been to witness the campaigning spirit of our Amnesty Groups throughout the years, and their passionate response to issues of equality and human rights. Croydon High was the first school in the local area to educate girls and despite the scandal it caused amongst the gentlefolk of Croydon, Miss Neligan simply would not accept that young women did not deserve the same educational opportunities as their brothers. She not only educated them but she ensured Croydon High was at the forefront of creating opportunities for girls.
In 1885, hitherto almost unheard of for girls, chemistry was introduced to the curriculum. Of course, at the beginning, no practical work was allowed – it was considered far too dangerous! But in 1902, about a year after Miss Leahy succeeded Miss Neligan as Headmistress, a science demonstration room, forerunner of the laboratories, was built – no doubt instigated by Miss Neligan. One can only imagine her delight at the numbers of Croydon High pupils excelling in the sciences both here and at university and at the opportunities presented by Enterprise Technology and available in our Mac Suite and podcasting room. I would love the opportunity to introduce Miss Neligan to the remarkable pioneering pupils in our Junior School, who are so passionate and so committed to so many important issues, even at such a young age and who see no barriers in what they seek to achieve.
In Dorinda's school, gender was certainly not allowed to be a barrier even when it came to sport. Although the pupils did not wear a uniform, by 1896 moderately short skirts were allowed for those girls who attended Swedish drill classes. (Even in 1918 the gym mistress was requested to wear a long raincoat over her tunic when moving around the school – I somehow doubt Ms Head and her team would comply with that regulation! )
Everything we know about Miss Neligan tells us that her principles were unwavering and that she was ready, always, to stand up for what is right. I have no doubt that if she were able to be with us today, she would be leading the charge when it comes to promoting and celebrating diversity and inclusion. She would certainly be an active supporter of the GDST's ‘Undivided' programme which we follow here at Croydon High and which is striving to address diversity, inclusion and real change, more widely within the education sector. To find out more, please visit the GDST's website here.
The principles underpinning the GDST's Undivided Charter for Action is something that all individual schools and indeed, we as individuals within the schools, acknowledge and seek to incorporate into our own lives and interactions. We are proud to be part of such a forward thinking and reflective organisation.
On Thursday 9 June, Mrs Pattison led a special assembly where she talked to the Senior School about how we are marking Dorinda Day this year. She reminded them of Miss Neligan's legacy and the school's commitment "… to ensure our school is a place where the individual is celebrated and championed, within a community that offers a safe place to rehearse the challenges of the real world." In the Junior School, pupils also discussed the idea of ‘difference' and what that means to them. To mark Dorinda Day 2022, we will be reflecting upon the journey we have made as a school community and encouraging each other to continue on this path. Each member of the school is being asked to make their own Ivy Pledge; something that will make a difference to their understanding of what it means to be ‘undivided at Croydon High' to help us on our journey to ensure every pupil has a deep sense of belonging to their school community. Pupils will be encouraged and guided toward appropriate resources to read, listen, watch and discuss. From this, they will identify their own Ivy Pledge which will be displayed as part of our whole school commitment to Dorinda Neligan's remarkable legacy.
For me personally, I will be considering my own Ivy Pledge of course, but I will also be looking to apply the following mantra to my daily life…WWDD. What would Dorinda do?
I think that will keep me on the right path. To find out more about Croydon High's own interpretation of Undivided and the journey we are on together, you may like to take a look at our website here.
(8) ****David Simkin, Family History Research (6th November, 2023)**
Dorinda Neligan was born in Cork, Ireland, on 9th June 1833, the daughter of Elizabeth Spiller (1794-1864) and Lieutenant Thomas Neligan (1790-1856), a decorated army officer. Dorinda's father, Thomas Neligan, served as an officer in the 83rd Regiment of Foot, an Irish infantry unit of the British Army, and had fought during the Peninsula War (1808-1814), seeing action at Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, and Salamanca.
In 1828, at Ross, County Cork, Thomas Neligan married Elizabeth Spiller and this union produced several children, including a son named Thomas Neligan (born 18th August 1837, Cork) and three daughters - Martha Matilda (born 1832, Cork), Dorinda (born 9th June 1833, Cork), and Annie Neligan (born 15th February 1839, Cork)...
On her return to England after the Franco-Prussian War, Dorinda Neligan set up a school in North London with Celestine Cassal (born c.1834), a "Teacher of Languages" who originated from the French region of Alsace. The school was based at No. 3 College Villas, Finchley New Road, South Hampstead, North London. The partnership between the two schoolmistresses was dissolved on 12th September 1873.
In the Autumn of 1874, the Girl's Day School Trust, a foundation created by four suffragists – Mrs Maria Georgina Grey, Miss Emily Shirreff (Mrs Grey's sister), Miss Mary Gurney and Henrietta Stanley, Baroness Stanley of Alderley – established the Croydon High School for Girls in Croydon, Surrey. The High School was opened on 1st September 1874. Dorinda Neligan was appointed as the first Headmistress of the Croydon High School for Girls, a position she held until her retirement in 1901.
The Croydon High School for Girls proved popular and between 1874 and 1880 the school increased the number of pupils on the school roll. When the school opened in September 1874, eighty girls were enrolled; by 1875 the number of pupils had risen to 123 and by 1879 the school had 175 pupils on roll. Because of the demand for places and the need to provide better facilities, larger premises were built on Wellesley Road, about midway between East and West Croydon Railway Stations. The new school, when completed, could accommodate 300 pupils...
When the 1881 Census was taken, Dorinda Neligan was residing at a house in Wellesley Road, Croydon, the location of the newly constructed High School for Girls. On the 1881 census return, 47-year-old Dorinda Neligan gives her occupation as "Head Mistress of High School for Girls". Residing with Miss Neligan at the house in Wellesley Road was her aunt, Jane Spiller, the younger sister of her mother; a niece, 23-year-old Emily M. Julian, who was employed as a teacher at Croydon High School for Girls; and four domestic servants – a housekeeper, a cook and two housemaids.
Ten years later, when the 1891 Census was carried out, Dorinda Neligan was recorded at No. 36 Wellesley Road, Croydon. Her niece, Emily, was still residing with Miss Neligan, but she is now entered on the census return as Emily M. Neligan rather than "Emily M. Julian'. In the 1891 Census, Miss Emily Nelligan is described as a 33-year-old "Assistant Mistress", while Miss Dorinda Neligan, the 'Head of the Household' gives her profession as "Head Mistress of Girls' Public School". Also living at 36 Wellesley Road were Miss Dorinda Neligan's four servants - a cook and three maids.
The 1901 Census was taken on 31 March 1901. The 1901 census again records Dorina Neligan at 36 Wellesley Road, Croydon, Surrey. On the census return 67-year-old Dorinda Neligan is recorded as "Head Mistress of Public School (Employer)". Residing with Dorinda Neligan was her younger sister, 62-year-old Annie Neligan, who was "Living on Own means" ; a visitor, a 73-year-old, Irish-born widow named Mrs Harriet Kingsley; and three domestic servants – a cook, a housemaid and a kitchen maid. Later that year, Miss Dorinda Neligan retired as Headmistress of Croydon High School for Girls and was replaced by Marion Leahy.
Two of Dorinda Neligan's sisters had come to live in England. On 26th March 1856 at St Anne Shandon, Cork, Ireland, Martha Matilda Neligan (1832-1901) had married her cousin Thomas Neligan Kearney (1819-1884), a clergyman. Reverend Thomas Neligan Kearney was appointed Vicar of the parish of Throwley, a village near Faversham in Kent. Mrs Martha Neligan Kearney lived with her husband and daughter at Throwley Vicarage in Kent until her husband's death on 30th March 1884. After the death of her husband, Mrs Martha Neligan Kearney land her daughter, Mary Alice Kearney (born 1867, Ireland), settled in Canterbury, Kent, where Mrs Kearney died on 10th January 1901. Dorinda's younger sister, Annie Neligan (1839-1932) came to England to live with her older sister Dorinda in Croydon, Surrey. At the time of the 1921 Census, 82-year-old Annie Neligan was visiting a friend in Croydon. Annie Neligan died in Croydon, Surrey, in 1932 at the age of 93.
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Dorinda Neligan, described as a spinster of Oakwood House, 5 Sydenham Road, Croydon, Surrey, died on 18th July 1914 at the age of 81. She left effects valued at �2,166. 8s. 6d. which she left to her surviving sister, Annie Neligan.