Ann Jellicoe

Anne Jellicoe, née Anne William Mullin (1823–1880) was an Irish educationalist best known for the founding of the prestigious Alexandra College, which became a force in women's education under her management.

Early life She was born on 23 March 1823 at Mountmellick, County Laois to William and Margaret Mullin (née Thompson), and had one brother John William Mullin. Her father was a Quaker schoolmaster who ran his own school for boys, with emphasis on higher learning, including English, history, the classics, and higher mathematics. Anne married John Jellicoe, a flour miller on 28 October 1846 in Mountmellick and moved to Clara, County Offaly two years later.

Educational work There is no record of where Jellicoe was educated as a child. She was active in charitable works from an early age. Johanna Carter, who was a teacher at a school for girls in the village, became a role model for Jellicoe. Carter provided vocational training for girls at her school and invented Mountmellick Embroidery, proving to Jellicoe that work could liberate women. In Clara she set up an embroidery and lace school to provide employment for young girls. She not only encourage the women to create products for market, she also encouraged them to cultivate their minds and become independent. The Catholic church didn't agree with this type of education. So much so that the parish priest came to the school and broke it up. The school continued to flourish until 1856, even without the support of the church. With support of the Dublin Statistical Society, established in 1847 to tackle social problems, Jellicoe developed observation and research techniques that she used to investigate prisons, slums and workplaces in Dublin. She was asked to present a paper at the 1861 meeting of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science on the conditions of women working in factories in Dublin. Potential employers began to show an interest in Institute graduates, most prominently the Irish Magnetic Telegraph Company, which provided equipment and its head engineer as a teacher.

Publications 'Woman's supervision of women's industry' (1861) Transactions of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science 'Visit to the female convict prison at Mountjoy, Dublin' (1862) Transactions of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science

Death and legacy

The Jellicoes had no children, Anne died suddenly in Birmingham whilst visiting her brother on 18 October 1880 aged 57 and she is buried at the Friends' burial-ground at Rosenallis.