About Us

Simon has lived in Brighton since 1975 when he came to study law at Sussex. He is a Perrier Award winning comic and has broadcast regularly on BBC Radios 4 and 5 and GLR, made TV documentaries, and written features and interviews for many national newspapers. A co-founder of Stonewall and of the Kaleidoscope Trust, he started and chaired the Economic Partnership in Brighton and Hove, led the successful city bid, served on the Board of Brighton Dome and Festival and was Chair of Sussex University’s governing Council. He runs a consultancy business which supports organisations to diversify their senior staff. He is Chair of Hexagon Housing Association and on the Board of Powerful Women. He is married to Adam and they have no children or dogs.

How wonderful to discover another great and significant woman in Brighton who fought for women’s rights. And to see a statue in the centre of town will continue to remind us all how that remains vital and tragically still unfinished business for women in the UK as well as worldwide (20th January 2020)

Julie V. Gottlieb is a Professor of Modern History at the University of Sheffield. She has written extensively on women’s politicisation and activism in the first part of the 20th century, monographs Feminine Fascism: Women in Britain’s Fascist Movement, 1923-1945 (2000, 2nd edition 2021), ‘Guilty Women’, Foreign Policy and Appeasement in inter-war Britain (2015), as well as many edited collections and special issues, including The Aftermath of Suffrage (2013), Feminists and Feminism After Suffrage (2014) and Rethinking Right-Wing Women (2018). She acted as historical advisor to artist Gillian Wearing on the statue of Millicent Fawcett that was unveiled in Parliament Square in 2018, and she participated in various events to mark Astor100, curated by Dr Jacqui Turner, in 2019-20. She has spoken to wide audiences about her research in the UK and around the world in the press, on radio and television, and as podcasts.

A statue to Mary Clarke would represent more than the first national memorial to this brave and martyred suffragette. All such statues bring us closer to equality, both as we remember women’s struggle for citizenship rights and against spousal and state abuse, and as we inspire new generations to secure and then to maintain women’s and human rights.

Briony Goulden is a great-great-niece of Mary Clarke and her sister Emmeline Pankhurst (nee Goulden) and has a strong interest in the family history. She lives in Brighton with her husband and has two young daughters. Briony is a public sector lawyer.

Peter has lived in Hove for over 15 years. At the age of 26 he went back to school to study for A-Levels and despite being severely dyslexic he progressed to Sussex University where he gained a PhD in community economic development. Before this he worked as an aid worker. In May 2015 Peter was elected MP for Hove & Portslade taking the seat from the Tories.

June Purvis is Emeritus Professor of Women’s and Gender History, University of Portsmouth. She has published extensively on the British suffragette movement, including the highly acclaimed Emmeline Pankhurst: a biography (2002) and Christabel Pankhurst: A Biography (2018). June is the Editor of Women’s History Review and was Chair of the Women’s History Network from 2014-2018.

Martin Clifford Lloyd Williams was born 12 May 1965 and is the first and current Archdeacon of Brighton and Lewes in the Church of England’s Diocese of Chichester. He was licensed on 1 March 2015 and now lives in Hove with his wife Judy. They have three adult children.

Martin was educated at Westminster College and Trinity College, Bristol. He was ordained in 1994 and spent many years in Bath, first as Curate at St Andrew’s Church, then as Rector of St Michael’s Church and finally as Rural Dean of Bath before his appointment as Archdeacon. He has a wide experience of parish ministry, working with all church traditions and with other communities of faith. He has a strong commitment to women’s rights and high standards in education, working to ensure that all girls have equal opportunities to learn and live in safety.

Mary Clarke’s story is deeply moving and of great significance. I would be honoured to support the movement for the placement of a statue in Brighton to give her story the prominence it deserves. I’m sure many would love to know more about her.

Isaac Abatan is 21. Though born in Worthing, he has lived in Hove all his life and is currently studying for a degree in Politics, Economics and Philosophy at Loughborough University. A long term volunteer for the Appeal, he agreed to become our first Student Ambassador in 2022. He is a keen sportsman playing football and hockey.

I am proud to be a student ambassador for the Mary Clarke Statue appeal. Mary showed her commitment to ensuring women got to vote and her story is an inspiration. Universal suffrage and democracy is not something we should ever take for granted and a statue honouring Mary’s sacrifice will ensure generations to come never forget.

River Isaac is the Appeal’s first Child Ambassador. She is 8 years old and attends Balfour Primary School in Brighton. River met us at the height of the pandemic, when she and her mother Paula contacted us to ask if we could help with an online lesson about the proposed sculpture. This led to our first school presentation along with sculptor Denise Dutton. River’s interest in the suffragettes was not new. At the age of 6 she went on a class trip to Preston Manor at which she refused to dress up as a maid servant, instead attending as a suffragette. River has demonstrated her ability to influence others for good. She has a thirst for knowledge, a love of outdoor activities and, young as she is, a track record of supporting local charities. We have been struck by her passion for women’s rights and equality, her enthusiasm to learn about the suffrage struggle and her keenness to inform others about it. We hope this will encourage other young people to become involved in our campaign.

I want to be a part of the Appeal. Mary Clarke was the first suffragette so brave that she died for women’s right to vote. I think she deserves a statue to remember her. I want to pick up the lamp depicted in the statue, that Mary has laid down. I want to take it up and continue girls’ and women’s fight for equality.

Isabel (Izzy, on the left) and Sophia (on the right) Kilburn are 12 year old twins from Ovingdean. They attend Brighton College Prep, love music and are accomplished young sportswomen. They are also seasoned campaigners, with a particular interest in commemorating the lives of women who have no local memorial. While working on a school project, they came across tombstones in their local graveyard for Helena Normanton and Sophia Jex-Blake, inspirational women who fought to allow women to practice Law and Medicine. The girls thought it odd that Helena and Sophia were not commemorated in the city. They were surprised to discover that less than a quarter of Brighton’s blue plaques commemorate women and that some of these refer to women as “wife”, “daughter” or “mistress” of men! The sisters began a local campaign for plaques for Normanton and Jex-Blake, and were delighted that their applications received approval from the Council. They sought the support of the Chair of our Appeal and so learned about Mary Clarke, another inspirational ‘forgotten’ woman. They are now enthusiastic Child Ambassadors and are excited and proud to be involved in fundraising for, and promoting, the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal. Meanwhile, they plan to unveil the blue plaque for Helena Normanton in 2022, the 100th anniversary of her admission to the Bar. We are sure that everyone involved in Mary’s Appeal will want to support them in this.
Izzy said:

Mary Clarke did so much for women’s rights – the least we can do is honour her with a statue. It will be educational for Brighton & Hove school children, both boys and girls, to learn more about her

Sophia said:

It has been so interesting to learn about the inspiring Mary Clarke and the sacrifice she made over a hundred years ago. It helped open up so many opportunities – all of us girls and women owe her so much!

Isabel (Izzy, on the left) and Sophia (on the right) Kilburn are 12 year old twins from Ovingdean. They attend Brighton College Prep, love music and are accomplished young sportswomen. They are also seasoned campaigners, with a particular interest in commemorating the lives of women who have no local memorial. While working on a school project, they came across tombstones in their local graveyard for Helena Normanton and Sophia Jex-Blake, inspirational women who fought to allow women to practice Law and Medicine. The girls thought it odd that Helena and Sophia were not commemorated in the city. They were surprised to discover that less than a quarter of Brighton’s blue plaques commemorate women and that some of these refer to women as “wife”, “daughter” or “mistress” of men! The sisters began a local campaign for plaques for Normanton and Jex-Blake, and were delighted that their applications received approval from the Council. They sought the support of the Chair of our Appeal and so learned about Mary Clarke, another inspirational ‘forgotten’ woman. They are now enthusiastic Child Ambassadors and are excited and proud to be involved in fundraising for, and promoting, the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal. Meanwhile, they plan to unveil the blue plaque for Helena Normanton in 2022, the 100th anniversary of her admission to the Bar. We are sure that everyone involved in Mary’s Appeal will want to support them in this.
Lena said:

It’s a basic right to vote and I believe that by creating this statue it will inspire others to help the fight for women’s rights.

Sylvie said:

It is hard to understand why for centuries women have been denied the same rights as men; one of these is the ability to vote. I think it is important for all women and girls to know that they shouldn’t be denied equal rights to men and unveiling Mary’s statue will boost the fight for women’s equality.

Howard Spencer is a senior historian at English Heritage, and has worked on the London blue plaque scheme for the last 16 years. Previously he was a research editor at the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and a research fellow at the History of Parliament. Howard has also worked as a local newspaper editor and as a media relations and communications consultant. He is editor of The English Heritage Guide to London’s Blue Plaques (2016).

The proposed statue to Mary Clarke will be a welcome addition to Brighton’s roster of monuments to individuals. The town was an important centre for women’s suffrage campaigning, and as an individual she deserves to be much better known and more widely celebrated.

Jean is a journalist and women’s rights campaigner. A former social worker, Director of a domestic violence charity and Brighton Councillor, she now campaigns against sexist homicide and promotes local women’s history. She is a founder of both the Brighton & Hove Women’s History Group and the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal.

Kathy Henderson qualified as a solicitor in 1999 and worked in private practice in Criminal Law, Family Law and Public Law proceedings. She joined the Crown Prosecution Service in 2003 and was Lead CPS Lawyer for the setting up of the Specialist Domestic Violence Court in Croydon. She is a Domestic Violence and Rape Prosecution Specialist.

Since 2009 she has been part of the CPSDirect team providing 24 hour charging advice to all 43 Police Forces.