Emily Sturge

Emily Sturge (20 April 1847 – 3 June 1892) was a British campaigner for women's education. She was secretary of the west of England branch of the National Society for Women's Suffrage.

Life

Sturge was born in 1847 in Highbury Villa, Cotham Road, Bristol. This is the property now known as 2 Cotham Road. She was the first of eleven children born to Charlotte Allen and William Sturge. The Sturge family were prominent amongst British Quakers and related by marriage to many of the other leading Quaker families. Her siblings were Margaret, Elizabeth, William, Mary, John, Charles, Guli, Helen Maria, Clement and Caroline. Five of the Sturge daughters, including Emily, would be involved in improving the prospects for women to gain a higher education, but Emily and Elizabeth were the leading lights.

She was a suffragist and became secretary of the west of England branch of the National Society for Women's Suffrage

Death and legacy

Sturge died in Cotham in 1892 after falling from a horse.

In 2018 blue plaques were unveiled commemorating Emily, her sister Elizabeth Sturge and Agnes Beddoe at Redmaids' High School. In 2021, another Blue Plaque was unveiled on the gateway of the former Redland High School for Girls, dedicated to Emily and Elizabeth .