Dame Sarah Anne Lees DBE DStJ (néeBuckley; 13 November 1842 – 14 April 1935) of Werneth Park, Oldham, was an English Liberal politician, activist, and philanthropist who was the first female councillor elected in Lancashire (1907–19) and the first female Mayor of Oldham (1910–11), only the second woman in England to hold such a position. [1]
Lees was born in Mossley, Greater Manchester, in 1842. [2] [3] On 30 July 1874, she married Charles Edward Lees JP (1840–1894) of Werneth Park in Oldham, Lancashire, a relative of the Oldham MP John Frederick Lees.
After the Qualification of Women Act 1907 was passed by Parliament, Lees became the first woman to be elected to Oldham's Town Council, representing Hollinwood Ward. Already in her 60s, Lees was named the first female Freeman of the Borough of Oldham in November 1909. She became Mayor of Oldham the following year, only the second woman to be installed with that title in the United Kingdom. [1]
At a ceremony on 28 July 1927, Lees opened "The Nook" Convalescent Hospital, Greenfield. The ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Oldham, Alderman Samuel Frith JP, and Dr Thomas Fawsitt (Chairman of the proceedings, of Lees and Fawsitt Ward, Oldham Royal Infirmary). The hospital had originated in a bequest made by the late Mr H. L. Hargraves and, with the sum of £13,296, the foundation stone had been laid on 23 April 1870. The building opened on 20 September 1872 (it had originally been intended for it to be opened by Florence Nightingale but she was unable to attend due to illness). The Hospitals's original number of beds was 24, but these increased to 150. By 1926, 5,206 new outpatients applied for treatment, 5,349 accidents were admitted (1,402 for radiography), with 25,256 attendances for massage and electro-therapeutic departments.
Lees was involved with various local institutions: she was President of the Oldham Royal Infirmary, a Governor of Hulme Grammar School, a Member of the Court of the University of Manchester, and also served as Chairman of the Oldham Branch of the League of Nations.
Lees died, aged 92, at Werneth Park, Oldham, on 14 April 1935. [1] Her daughter, Marjory Lees (1878–1970), presented the estate to the people of Oldham in 1936 to form the present public Werneth Park. [4] [5]
Lees was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law (LLD) degree by the University of Manchester in July 1914. In 1916, she was appointed a Lady of Grace (DStJ) of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. On 25 August 1917, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition of her services during World War I.
The Dame Sarah Lees Memorial erected in Werneth Park in 1937, was designed and made by the local artist and sculptor Williams Hargreaves Whitehead.
Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of Rochdale, and 7 miles (11.3 km) northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, which had a population of 237,110 in 2019.
Glodwick is an area of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It is south-east of Oldham town centre.
Rochdale is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the 2021 census the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wider borough. Rochdale is in the foothills of the South Pennines and lies in the dale (valley) of the River Roch, 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Oldham, and 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Manchester.
Edith Mary Oldham Ellis was an English writer and women's rights activist. She was married to the early sexologist Havelock Ellis.
Platt Brothers, also known as Platt Bros & Co Ltd, was a British company based at Werneth in Oldham, North West England. The company manufactured textile machinery and were iron founders and colliery proprietors. By the end of the 19th century, the company had become the largest textile machinery manufacturer in the world, employing more than 12,000 workers.
Dame Edith Mary Brown, was an English doctor and medical educator. She founded the Christian Medical College Ludhiana in 1894, the first medical training facility for women in Asia, and served as principal of the college for half a century. Brown was a pioneer in the instruction of Indian female doctors and midwives with modern western methods.
Grotton is a residential area in Saddleworth, a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. Located along the A669 road, it forms a continuous urban area with Austerlands and Springhead, which in turn link to Lees and Oldham, all of which are to Grotton's west.
The history of Oldham is one of dramatic change, from obscure Pennine hamlet to preeminent mill town and textile processing capital of the world. Oldham's industrial history includes hatting, coal mining, structural engineering, mechanical engineering, textile machinery manufacture and cotton spinning - for which the town is most noted.
John Platt was an English manufacturer of textile machinery and Liberal politician.
Dame Mary Rosalind Paget, DBE, ARRC, was a noted British nurse, midwife and reformer. She was the first superintendent, later inspector general, of the Queen's Jubilee Institute for District Nursing, which was renamed as the Queen's Institute of District Nursing in 1928 and as the Queen's Nursing Institute in 1973.
Junction Mill, Middleton Junction is a cotton spinning mill at Middleton junction, Chadderton in Greater Manchester alongside the Rochdale Canal.
Freehold is an urban area of Werneth in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It occupies an area in the west of Werneth along the Oldham township boundary with Chadderton. It is contiguous on all sides with other urban areas, including parts of Werneth to the north and east, and Cowhill, Block Lane, and Butler Green/Washbrook in Chadderton.
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council, also known as Oldham Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority since 2011.
John Frederick Lees was a British landowner and Liberal Conservative politician who represented Oldham in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as a Member of Parliament from 1835 to 1837.
Ada Jane Summers was the first British woman to sit as a magistrate, and one of the first women in England to become a Justice of the Peace. She was also the first female councillor, mayor and freeman of Stalybridge near Manchester. She was also a philanthropist.
Garden Suburb is an area of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, 1.9 miles to the south of the town centre, contiguous with Hollins, Copster Hill, Hollinwood and Limeside.
Mary Gertrude Emmott, Baroness Emmott of Oldham JP was a British political activist.
Werneth Park is a public park in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, including a Grade II* listed community centre, music rooms, Dame Sarah Lees Memorial, gardens and sports facilities.
Marjory Lees was a British suffragist and local politician. Lees was active in the local women's movement in Oldham, Greater Manchester where she became the honorary secretary of the local branch of the National Union of Women Workers.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link)