Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy: Statue to honour suffrage campaigner

A statue of one of the lesser-known figures of the women's suffrage movement is due to be unveiled in her Cheshire hometown.

Born in 1833, Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy founded a girls' school in Manchester and campaigned for women to have the right to vote.

Suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst called her "the brains of the suffragist movement".

Elmy moved to Congleton - where her statue will be unveiled - after her marriage to a local businessman in 1874.

She lived in the town until her death in 1918, a few weeks after most British women gained the right to vote.

24 October 2021