Claude Hinscliff Explained

thumb|Claude Hinscliff Church League for Women's Suffrage meeting in BrightonReverend Claude Hinscliff (1875–1964) was a British suffragist.^{[1] [2]} He was a leading person in the Church League for Women's Suffrage.

Education and early career

Hinscliff studied for his licentiate in theology at Durham University. He matriculated in 1893 and was awarded a scholarship after performing well in the admissions exam.^[3] As a student he coxed for the university boat club.^[4] A member of Hatfield Hall, he graduated in 1896.^[5] As reported in 15 June 1897 edition of The Times, he was ordained a deacon in the Diocese of Norwich and attached to Parham and Hacheston in Suffolk.^[6] In December 1899 he was ordained a priest at St George in the Meadows, Nottingham.^[7] By 1905 he was Vicar of Bobbing in Kent.^[8]

Involvement with women's suffrage

Hinscliff is most notable for his involvement in the British suffrage movement. He founded the Anglican Church League for Women's Suffrage in 1909, and was its secretary for a long time.^{[1] [9]} He and fellow member Charles Baumgarten (and, according to the Church Times, the Archdeacon of Lewisham, Charles Escreet^[10]), conducted the funeral service of Emily Davison in St. George's, Bloomsbury, where Baumgarten was vicar.^[11]

Later life

By 1913 he had become very uncomfortable with the militancy of suffragettes, which included arson attacks on churches, and as a result the Church League began to distance itself from the WSPU.^[12] He resigned his position as honorary organiser in 1914 on doctor's orders, having been diagnosed with myocarditis in 1911.^[13] He then worked in Europe. In 1920 he served on the staff of the Serbian Relief Fund and by March of the following year was established as British Chaplain in Belgrade.^[14] He soon moved on to Romania, where he served as the British Chaplain in Bucharest from 1921-1924.^[15]

Legacy

His name and picture (and those of 58 other women's suffrage supporters) are on the plinth of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square, London, unveiled in 2018.^{[16] [17] [18]}

Notes and References

1. Book: Krista Cowman. Women in British Politics, c.1689-1979. 9 December 2010. Palgrave Macmillan. 978-1-137-26801-3. 63–.
2. Web site: Courage calls to courage everywhere: the male campaigners for universal suffrage noted on the Millicent Fawcett statue. – Women's Business Council . Women's Business Council . 24 April 2018.
3. Scholarships, Exhibitions . Durham University Journal . 4 November 1893 . 10 . 1–18 . 212 .
4. Boating . Durham University Journal . 16 December 1893 . 10 . 1–18 . 242 .
5. Web site: Durham University calendar 1897. reed.dur.ac.uk. Cambridge University Press. 12 March 2018. en.
6. Ordinations . The Times . 15 June 1897 . 15.
7. Ordinations . Durham University Journal . 1900 . 14 . 24 .
8. Preferments and Appointments . Durham University Journal . 1904–1905 . 16 . 224 .
9. Book: Graham Neville. Radical Churchman: Edward Lee Hicks and the New Liberalism. 1998. Clarendon Press. 978-0-19-826977-9. 165–.
10. News: Street . Peter . Death on the path to suffrage . 18 April 2020 . www.churchtimes.co.uk.
11. Book: Elizabeth Crawford. The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866-1928. 2 September 2003. Routledge. 1-135-43401-8. 475–.
12. Book: Inkpin . Jonathan . Combatting the 'sin of self-sacrifice'?: Christian feminism in the women's suffrage struggle, 1903-1918 . 1996 . Durham University (Thesis) . Durham . 211–212 .
13. Inkpin, p. 168
14. Yugoslavia . The Near East . 10 March 1921 . 285.
15. Web site: SGITE Clergy 1900- . St George-in-the-East Church . 21 November 2018.
16. Web site: Historic statue of suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett unveiled in Parliament Square. Gov.uk. 24 April 2018. 24 April 2018.
17. News: Topping. Alexandra. First statue of a woman in Parliament Square unveiled. The Guardian. 24 April 2018. 24 April 2018.
18. Web site: Millicent Fawcett statue unveiling: the women and men whose names will be on the plinth . iNews . 24 April 2018. 2018-04-25.