Skinner, Miss Caroline, Bayfield, York Road, Babbacombe, Torquay
Caroline Eliza Skinner[1] (c.1833 – 1918) was born in Stockton-on-Tees, Durham. She was the daughter of George and Hannah Skinner. George and his brother William had invested in the firm of William Smith & Co, pottery manufacturers, whose principal factory was the Stafford Pottery in Stockton. William Smith gave up the business in 1855, when it was renamed George Skinner and Co., under which name it traded until George’s death in 1870. At the 1861 census George stated that he employed 131 hands.
Caroline was the middle child in a family of five, and it was with her sister Emily, two years younger than herself that she came to live in Torquay after her father’s death. In 1871 they were staying as lodgers in St Marychurch. They later purchased Bayfield, York Road, where Caroline was to live for the rest of her life. At the 1911 census Caroline and Emily are both recorded living ‘on private means’ at Bayfield, an eight-roomed house, where they employed two resident servants.
In 1878 the Misses Skinner, as Emily recounted it,[2] were shopping in Edgware Road, London, when they were distressed by the unhealthy pallor of the shop girls serving them. They decided that they would set up a House of Rest for Business Women in Babbacombe, where young women employed in shops or offices could come for a holiday or for a break. They took a little cottage with six beds, appointed a matron to look after it and invited both subscriptions and bookings. Its popularity grew; further subscriptions were sought; and a larger property was leased. Demand continued to grow and the Skinners bought a larger property, Ferny Bank, and then the villa next door, and in 1901 added a new wing, bringing the accommodation available to 85 places. The work of the Misses Skinner was described at length in an article in the Girls’ Own Paper in 1898. Entitled ‘Gentlewomen who devote their lives to the Poor: Friends of Girls in Business’, it has been reproduced in full on the Victorian Voices website.[3]
It is not clear when the Skinners first took an interest in women’s suffrage. They appear to have been well read, providing a library for the House of Rest, and giving talks and lectures to the holidaymakers on wet days. A collection of material relating to the House of Rest has been preserved in the Millicent Fawcett papers, including two prospectuses for it written by Miss C.E. Skinner, an article written about it by Dinah Craik in 1887, and the 11th Annual Report dated 1888.[4] These may have been provided by the Skinners seeking support and subscriptions or have resulted from inquiries made by Fawcett.
At some stage Caroline Skinner at least became a member of the central Women’s Suffrage Society. On 10 January 1906 she wrote a letter to Mrs Fawcett expressing her intention to withdraw her membership from the WSS if it did not dissociate itself from the actions of ‘women who interrupt meetings’, by which she meant the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Fawcett was under increasing pressure nationally to dissociate herself from the WSPU. She wrote back immediately. Caroline Skinner then wrote on 14 January to say that she accepted Mrs Fawcett’s arguments and would remain a member of the Society.[5]
No further references have been found to the involvement of either of the Skinner sisters with the movement for Women’s Suffrage. Caroline Skinner died on 16 October 1918 at Bayfield, leaving effects valued at over £3800.
Entry created by Julia Neville, November 2018
[1] Family and census information from www.ancestry.co.uk
[2] Torquay Times and South Devon Advertiser, 1 Jun 1900.
[3] http://www.victorianvoices.net/ARTICLES/GOP/People/1898-Poor.pdf Accessed 25 Nov 2018
[4] Manchester Archives and Local Studies Centre (MALSC), Millicent Fawcett Papers on Convalescent Homes, M50/5/27/4.
[5] MALSC, Papers of Millicent Garrett Fawcett, M50/2/1/214 & 215, Letters from Miss Caroline E. Skinner of Torquay, 10 & 14 Jan 1906.