Beatrice Blore Browne

Beatrice Blore Browne (26 December 1886 – 23 November 1921) was the first woman to drive a car up the Great Orme, Llandudno, undertaking the feat in a Singer 10 on 11 July 1914 whilst six months pregnant.

Early life Beatrice Blore was born on 26 December 1886 in Middlesbrough to Annie (née Harrison) and Herbert Blore. She was known as “Bee” by her family. She had an older brother Arthur, and two older step siblings from her father’s first marriage. Her father worked in management of the pottery industry, was a Poor Law administrator and was involved in the local musical scene. The family lived in a middle-class area of the town. Herbert Blore died age only 49 in 1890.

Beatrice’s mother remarried in 1894 and had two more children. The family moved to Llandudno, a seaside tourist town in North Wales in 1900 after her stepfather Edward Leach got a job as Chief Electrician for the Llandudno Pier, which was part of the town’s tourism offer. He installed its first set of electrical lights and ran a company which installed electricity into houses, at the time it was a new, cutting edge technology. After a fire in 1908, the Leaches moved to Weston-super-Mare but Beatrice and her older brother Arthur remained in Llandudno. Women motorists were still rare and subject to a lot of media interest.

On 11 July 1914, a crowd gathered to watch Beatrice Blore drive a Singer 10 up the Great Orme. By this date, she was 6 months pregnant. She succeeded in the difficult drive and the car she drove was subsequently displayed at the garage. Beatrice was buried in the churchyard of St. Tudno’s church on the Great Orme. Family legend states that he sent the bill to Beatrice’s relatives as a pointed gesture about their lack of support since she had her daughter out of wedlock. for the member who rowed in the first boat in the May Races and received the best examination results of the team. Her name was suggested by her great niece Marcia Miller (née Blore), daughter of Arthur Blore.