When Lady Mabel Smith died, aged 81, on September 26 1951, most obituaries pointed to her long and distinguished record of public service, but some also paid tribute to her as a person of integrity who was very well liked and respected. The South Yorkshire Times and Express called her a ‘gentlewoman in the truest sense of the word’, adding;

There has been no one quite like Lady Mabel and there will be none. Her contribution to the social history of the district was as unique as her personality.

Sir Bernard Lomas-Walker, former chairman of the West Riding County Council noted how much she would be missed by her fellow Yorkshire people, to whose welfare her life was devoted. And I think his sentiment was exactly right. Lady Mabel was a one off, who never pretended to be what she was not. She did not claim to share experiences with those whose causes she was championing but she did ensure that she was always very well informed. She was outspoken because she was determined to speak for those she represented.

As an aristocratic young woman, she could easily have taken a much easier path than the one she chose, worked far less for the public good and devoted much more of her time to farming and to the field sports she so enjoyed. The chances of her ever becoming a conventional lady of the manor seemed remote from the start; whilst she did employ servants, she was certainly on their side. As early as 1911, speaking at the Sheffield Servants’ Home, she said that if mistresses could not find or keep servants, might it be because they had not done all that they could to make life more agreeable for them? She went on to say that while so much was heard about the education and training of servants, surely there was something to be said for the better training of mistresses. I can’t see that going down particularly well among those women she had ‘come out’ with into society back in the summer of 1889.  Instead, Lady Mabel went to work and if most of that work was unpaid, it was still all consuming.  She took on multiple roles and immersed herself in all that she saw needed doing. As a magistrate, she used her experiences to better inform her work on Council committees. In 1923, for example, she spoke about the number of times she was called upon as a magistrate to certify for women to be sent to asylums. Her view was that most of the cases were due to women being confined within appalling housing conditions and that the provision of maternity homes was the most economical way to prevent suffering.

Occasionally the press was critical of her, one reporter alluding to a tendency to speak too fast when excited whilst another, when she was addressing the Norfolk agricultural workers in 1923, managed to show derision for both her sex and her class, by commenting that ‘like most women of her class who take up the cause of the discontented, she is inclined to be a bit of an extremist’. Even this journalist was, however, forced to admit that she possessed practical knowledge. Lady Mabel, as we have seen, only talked about what she understood.

The short reference in 1928 to her turning down the nomination to stand as parliamentary candidate for Sowerby Bridge to care for three children, points to a strong sense of duty, not just in her public roles but towards all those she knew and cared about. Although I am not qualified to talk about Lady Mabel’s relationships with her family, there is certainly evidence to suggest that she was always generous with her home, hosting Labour events for example, as well as teas and sports afternoons for children in the care of Wortley Poor Law. Her deep concern for the welfare of children is apparent across her work and in speeches where she urges parents and teachers to listen to children and the sense that they speak. Let them, she (unsuccessfully) urged Rotherham Poor Law Guardians in 1913, regarding children in the Workhouse Infirmary, choose their own Christmas presents, which she was sure would give them the greatest pleasure. She consistently showed faith in children’s ability to do the right thing. In 1928, at the opening of a new school, she said that, in her opinion, children were infinitely older than grown-ups and their outlook on life was much more serious. Rather than tell them what to do, adults ought merely to help them by pointing out broad principles and giving the necessary warnings.

I have written about Lady Mabel Smith not because I think her aristocratic status makes her more worthy or more important than any other woman who worked in local politics during the early to mid 20th century but because her contributions to her community were significant and deserve to be recorded. Those who dedicate themselves to local politics tend to be overlooked in the historical record which still focuses heavily on national leaders and national politics. Those who dedicated years of service to their communities deserve recognition whether they were born into nobility or into poverty. Some aspects of their journeys undoubtedly differed greatly but they also shared experiences, challenges, setbacks and achievements and above all, vision for a better future.

Thank you for reading these posts. As I said at the very start, there is a great deal more to say. In addition to the elements of her work that I have highlighted, Lady Mabel was involved in a great deal more, including the Scout movement, a Board of Education Public Libraries Committee and the Miners’ Welfare Scholarship Scheme. I have said nothing about her foreign travels (for example, in 1927 an extensive trip to India, in 1929 a Mediterranean cruise) and the regular lectures and slide shows she gave about what she had seen and learned. I have to stop somewhere and hope that I have provided a broad outline of the various aspects of Lady Mabel’s public work.

If you have any questions or any information about this remarkable woman that you would like to share, I would be delighted to hear from you. You can use the contact form on this website or you can message me via @cathyhunt.bsky.social  or Cathy Hunt Historian on Facebook.