Constance Sladen

Constance Sladen (11 August 184817 January 1906) was an artist, architectural historian and philanthropist who was one of the first female members of the Linnean Society of London and founded the Percy Sladen Memorial Trust in memory of her late husband.

Biography Constance Anderson was born on 11 August 1848 in York. Her father was Dr W C Anderson, Sheriff of York; her brothers were the volcanologist Tempest Anderson, and the barrister Yarborough Anderson; she had a younger sister Ellen, who became Lady Granger. She studied at York School of Art, and later in Rome. They had first met around 1870. Her portrait was painted by Henry Tanworth Wells in 1901.

Architecture Sladen was a noted authority on churches and cathedrals in Yorkshire, contributing to major works on the subject, including the section on York Minster in Cathedrals and Abbeys of England and Wales. She also wrote on the churches of Louth, Bradford and Halifax, and on Selby Abbey.

Philanthropy After the death of her husband in 1900, Sladen was determined that his collection would be available for the public and endowed a new gallery and curatorial position at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter. She also endowed the Percy Sladen Memorial Trust in 1904 to provide funding for fieldwork for biologists and geologists around the world.

Legacy After her death, Sladen was described as "a great benefactor of science" by the Linnean Society. She features in the portrait by James Sant showing Linnean Society of London: First Formal Admission of Women Fellows, painted in 1906. She is the standing figure centre-left in the portrait. The Fernando Po swift (Apus sladeniae), a bird, was also named after Sladen, who provided financial support for its discovery.