Lucy Bannerman of The Times wrote an article entitled “Calls for statue to celebrate forgotten suffragette” published 23rd January 2021. We are so grateful for Lucy’s interest and for Andrew Hasson’s wonderful photographs. An invitation from Woman’s Hour followed (broadcast 29th January 2021) and several other media opportunities. We have had donations from as far afield as Wales and Scotland, with many donors commenting that…
Sculptor Denise Dutton has completed and delivered the much anticipated bronze maquette of Mary Clarke, the first suffragette to die for women’s right to vote – and did so in time for Mary’s birthday on 12th December. Cllr Alan Robins, the Mayor of Brighton & Hove received it on behalf of the Appeal and the people of Brighton & Hove in a brief socially-distanced ceremony…
Denise Dutton is in the final stages of completing the bronze maquette or model of the proposed statue of Mary Clarke. The finished wax is at the foundry and, COVID-permitting, the completed bronze should be ready by early December, in time for the anniversary of Mary’s birth on 12th December and of her death on Christmas Day. Our plan is to display the maquette in…
Our patron Elizabeth Crawford, one of the foremost historians of the suffrage movement, recently sent us a photograph of Mary we hadn’t seen before. Elizabeth had found it in the newly digitised records of the Daily Mirror of 29th December 1910, published just days after Mary’s death. We were very excited. We only had 5 decent images of this very retiring woman to show to…
Following months of discussion, research and painstaking work in miniature, our wonderful sculptor Denise Dutton has completed the rough plaster line maquette of Mary. She is now in the process of preparing a resin copy and a mould for the final bronze. Denise has faced many challenges. She has had to work from only 5 photographs, some of which are of poor quality and none…
We are very grateful to local magazines The Post, Preston Pages and 7Directory. They have not only featured long articles about Mary and the Appeal, but have also made the campaign their cover story, using wonderful images of Mary and publicising the fact that the design and rough maquette (model) of the statue-to-be are now complete. We are especially grateful for the Editorial which read:…
Supporters living in Brighton & Hove will have noticed that, post lock-down, many of the city’s free community magazines have re-appeared and combined. Sussex Magazines has gathered several titles into two new umbrella publications – The Brightonian and The Hovarian. We are so proud that in their inaugural July editions they chose to feature articles about the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal. Please support these worthy new publications…
Our sculptor Denise Dutton is hard at work on the maquette, doing the delicate work on facial features – a challenging task, given we have so few photographs and many of those we do have are of poor quality. One of Mary’s most endearing qualities was her lack of egoism and consequent quiet refusal to promote herself. However, this is causing real difficulties for those wishing…
Terri Bell Halliwell spear heads a national Brighton-based campaign to get more statues for women. She has been an inspiration to use and a consistent supporter from the start. She writes as follows: “Mary Clarke is one of the great band of wonderful women who have been ignored by the powers that select those suitable for public commemoration. Civic statues in the UK – and…
Jenny Engledow is well known in Brighton as a human rights and peace campaigner. What is less well known is that she is an excellent seamstress and embroiderer and has made beautiful banners for a range of causes. Many local people will have seen the beautiful banner Jenny made to celebrate the 2018 Centenary of women’s partial achievement of the Vote. It was based on…