Ethel Haythornthwaite

Ethel Mary Bassett Haythornthwaite ( Ward) (18 January 1894 – 11 April 1986) was an English environmental campaigner, activist and poet. She was a pioneer of countryside protection as well as town and country planning both locally and nationally.

She founded the Sheffield Association for the Protection of Rural Scenery, also known as the Sheffield Association for the Protection of Local Countryside in 1924, which became the local branch of CPRE in 1927, and worked to protect the countryside of the Peak District from development. She forefronted the appeal to save the 747-acre Longshaw Estate from development, and helped acquire land around Sheffield that became its green belt. She was appointed to the UK government’s National Parks Committee, and helped to make the successful case for the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, which led to the founding of the Peak District National Park in 1951. She also helped make green belts part of government policy in 1955. She was awarded an MBE in the 1947 New Years Honours List for her services to the countryside.

In 1963, she was awarded an honorary master's degree by Sheffield University.

Early life and education Ethel Mary Bassett Ward was born on 18 January 1894 at the family house on Millhouses Lane, Sheffield. Her father was a wealthy industrialist who built his family a large mansion on Endcliffe Vale Road which he called Endcliffe Vale House. surrounded by horses and carriages.

Longshaw Estate

In 1927, the Duke of Rutland sold the Longshaw Estate to the Sheffield Corporation. Prior to this sale the Corporation had purchased over 3,000 acres of moorland.

In 1928, Haythornthwaite spearheaded an urgent appeal to the Yorkshire public, which helped Peak District and South Yorkshire CPRE to raise the funds to buy the 747-acre Estate, which was threatened with development.

The Estate was gifted to the National Trust in 1931.

Sheffield's Green Belt

In 1932, Haythornthwaite helped acquire a further 448 acres of threatened land at Blacka Moor. In 1938, this became part of Sheffield's Green Belt (the first to be created in England).

The woodland itself was saved from housing development as part of the 1936 Whirlow Bridge to Dore Moore campaign. outside Buxton Town Hall. The route consists of twenty stages that broadly follows the park's boundary, as envisaged by Haythornthwaite and her husband, covering a total distance of 190 miles.

Heritage Open Days

In September 2018, during Heritage Open Days in Sheffield, two illustrated talks were given about Haythornthwaite's life and work. Sheffield Botanical Gardens 6 September 2018 Ethel Haythornthwaite: A Sheffield Woman of Considerable Consequences Clyde Binfield Professor Emeritus in History, University of Sheffield Regather Co-operative, Sharrow, Sheffield

Restoration of graves

In February 2016, a local resident reported that he found the graves of two of Sheffield's most generous philanthropists were neglected.

Councillor Sioned-Mair Richards, cabinet member for neighbourhoods at Sheffield Council said:

“The maintenance of privately bought memorials is always the responsibility of the family or purchaser. The graves of Sir Stuart Goodwin and Lt Col Gerald Haythornthwaite are private memorials and therefore their families are responsible for maintaining them.

“We acknowledge the significant contributions they made to the city and those of the many others buried in our cemeteries who gave generously, fought bravely and were champions for Sheffield.

“And whilst we would like to be able to maintain all neglected memorials, we have never funded private graves because budget pressures make it impossible for us.

“We have no objections to repairs being carried out and should the family or purchaser wish to instruct a stone mason we can provide information to help them do this.”

Following a public appeal in 2018, the graves of Haythornthwaite and her husband as well as her father and mother were restored.

A new plaque and monument at the site marks this event and explicitly acknowledges some of the achievements of Haythornthwaite.

Countryfile

On 7 April 2019, Haythornthwaite's work was featured in the BBC1 television programme Countryfile. The episode marked the 70th anniversary of the national parks of the United Kingdom and covered the impact of her legacy in Sheffield and the Peak District.

Campaign for National Parks tribute video

In October 2019, the Campaign for National Parks released a 6-minute video to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the National Parks. The video featured actress Caroline Quentin, who was President of the CNP at the time, as well as numerous voiceovers of key individuals.

One of the individuals featured was Jean Smart, who served as secretary to the Haythornthwaites and a countryside campaigner herself. Smart talked about the importance of the Haythornthwaites' work in the Peak District. Smart also mentions how it was Ethel Haythornthwaite's vision for the soldiers post-war to come home to their Jerusalem, a reference to the poem by one of her favourite poets, William Blake.

The Ethels

In May 2021, the summit of 95 hills in the Peak District of England were named the Ethels in her honour, similar to the Munros in Scotland or Wainwrights in the Lake District.

Blue plaque

On 2 August 2021, a campaign to honour Haythornthwaite was started by The Star newspaper, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England Peak District and South Yorkshire (CPRE PDSY), Blake, University of Sheffield and former Lord Mayor Councillor Anne Murphy. CPRE had previously created a crowdfunding appeal campaign on GoFundMe on 20 July 2021. It successfully achieved its target amount, with a total amount of £591.

On 25 May 2022, a blue plaque to commemorate the life of one of Sheffield and the Peak District’s leading environmentalists and most influential women was put in place. The plaque is located at the old site where she lived, Endcliffe Vale House, which is now a student village. The plaque, which rests on a stone from the Peak District, was officially unveiled by Dame Fiona Reynolds , the CPRE Peak District and South Yorkshire branch president and an honorary graduate of the University of Sheffield.

Other plaques and planned memorials

In August 2021, Tomo Thompson, CEO of CPRE PDSY and a former mayor of Sheffield, stated that there was a plaque in honour of Haythornthwaite at Longshaw and a small tribute located at Dore.

Haythornthwaite biography

A biography of Haythornthwaite, Ethel: The biography of countryside pioneer Ethel Haythornthwaite, by poet and author Helen Mort, was published on 7 May 2024.

100 years of CPRE Peak District and South Yorkshire

On 8 March 2024, to celebrate International Women's Day and 100 years of CPRE PDSY, the National Trust hosted a talk on the life and work of Haythornthwaite followed by a guided walk up Higger Tor, the closest Ethel to Longshaw Estate.