Jane Elizabeth Strickland (1851–1932)

Jane Elizabeth Strickland (1851–1932) by guest author Helena Wojtczak

Two Women. One Century. A Defiant Legacy.

To know Jane Elizabeth Strickland, one must first meet her mother, Mary Ann Slade—the indomitable "Grand Old Lady of Hastings." From a childhood meeting with abolitionists to a century of tireless service, Mary Ann was the "dangerous foe" of the establishment and a pioneer who disarmed the critics of women in public life.

But it was Jane who took the baton and sprinted. A champion of the nursery and the schoolroom, Jane’s quiet philanthropy masked a revolutionary spirit. When the Liberal Party faltered on the promise of the vote, Jane didn't just walk away—she rebelled, joining the radical Women’s Freedom League and sacrificing party loyalty for the principle of equality.

From the Sunday Schools of the Victorian era to the magistrate’s bench of the 1920s, the story of the Strickland and Slade women is a moving testament to a generation of "sterling character." It is a narrative of grit, faith, and an uncompromising devotion to the poor that left an indelible mark on the heart of Hastings.

Mary Ann Slade

Mary Ann Slade 1894
President of the
Women's Liberal Association (WLA)

Mary Ann Slade was born into a wealthy, Nonconformist Leeds family in 1823, Mary Ann’s moral compass was set early; she claimed a childhood meeting with the American abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe first awakened her to the sting of injustice.[1] By age 12, she was already teaching impoverished children to read and write at Sunday School—a mission of service she would pursue relentlessly for the next 80 years.

In 1850, Mary Ann married the printer and bookseller William Slade, whose family lineage included the famed philanthropist Felix Slade, founder of the Slade School of Art. When the couple moved to Hastings in 1863, William’s business evolved from selling sheet music to providing the town with pianos, organs, and banjos, eventually expanding to a second branch at 22 Grand Parade. He became a fixture of the local cultural scene, managing the Royal Concert Hall and organising recitals for the era’s premier pianists.

The ‘Grand Old Lady of Hastings’

In the streets of Hastings, Mary Ann encountered "deplorable poverty and ignorance." Convinced she was led by divine providence, she became a tireless visitor of the sick and a teacher of domestic economy to struggling mothers. Education was her crusade: she founded the Bourne Street Mission to bring literacy to fishing families and established the Priory Street Institute, where she continued to teach until she was 92. Her influence permeated the town as a governor of Waterloo Place Infants’ School and a key driver in the campaign for a hospital for the poor alongside local luminaries like William Ransom, Dr Blackwell, and Mrs Tubbs.

Described as a "gentle and charming woman" whose "whole life was devoted to helping and teaching others," she was eventually dubbed "The grand old lady of Hastings." To mark her 100th birthday, she characteristically turned her attention outward, paying for a grand tea party and entertainment for all 350 inmates of the local workhouse. The editor of the Hastings & Saint Leonard's Observer (HSLO) hailed her as the "Elizabeth Fry of the Premier Cinque Port," yet noted she was the "most determined and dangerous foe" the Conservatives faced, credited with disarming hostility toward women appearing on the public platform.[2]

Mary Ann Slade lived in Laton Road

A Political Force

Mary Ann was a staunch suffragist who attended meetings as early as the 1880s, demanding universal suffrage at age 21. She weaponised her influence, refusing to support any male candidate who denied women the vote. In 1892, she co-founded and presided over the local branch of the Women’s Liberal Association (WLA).

However, the WLA’s role was controversial. Emmeline Pankhurst later argued that the WLA was a strategic diversion created by Gladstone to keep women subservient to men's parties:

"The promise of the Federation was that by allying themselves with men in party politics, women would soon earn the right to vote. The avidity with which the women swallowed this promise... and threw themselves into the men's work was amazing."[3]

Pankhurst noted that while women provided "faithful work at elections," the men "never offered any kind of payment." [4] Despite this political friction, Mary Ann remained a pillar of the community, though she possessed a sharp, puritanical edge. She famously expressed "disgust" at the "filthy and obscene" sight of men and women wearing clothes of the opposite sex during an 1894 Guy Fawkes parade and campaigned for pubs to close as early as shops.

When Mary Ann died in 1926—just ten weeks shy of her 103rd birthday—she left behind five children. None would take up the baton more passionately than her eldest daughter, Jane.

Jane Strickland: The Torchbearer

Jane was 12 when the family settled into the maisonette above their shop at 7 Wellington Place.[5] For fifteen years, she mirrored her mother’s devotion, teaching Sunday School and playing the harmonium for workhouse inmates. In a departure from the norms of the day, she waited until age 26 to marry, choosing Francis Strickland—a corn merchant who shared her deep Robertson Street Congregationalist faith.

While Mary Ann had to build schools from the ground up, Jane operated within the new state system established in 1870. She became a beloved figure on the School Board and Education Committee; pupils regarded her as their "great friend." Her advocacy spanned the NSPCC and the Workers' Educational Association, and she co-founded the St Leonards School for Delicate Children.

Radicalisation and the Vote

Jane Elizabeth Strickland on the
cover of THE VOTE, publication of the
Women's Freedom League (WFL)

Jane’s involvement in the Women’s Liberal Federation (WLF) eventually led to a breaking point. By 1912, after twenty years of unpaid labour for a party that refused to grant her the vote, she had reached the end of her tether. She declared:

"As far as women were concerned the present Government had no right to call itself Liberal... I am prepared for the moment to sacrifice even party for the principle of equal representation."[6]

True to her word, she defected. She joined a 500-woman deputation to the Prime Minister and, while she admired the courage of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she disagreed with its violent methods. Instead, she joined the breakaway Women’s Freedom League (WFL), serving as local president until the end of her life. Seeing the Labour Party as the only sincere ally of the suffrage movement, she threw her weight behind their candidate, Frederick Pethick Lawrence, eventually becoming vice-chair of the local branch.

A Legacy of Kindness

In her twilight years, Jane’s "sterling character" remained legendary. In 1929—the year her husband died—she was appointed a magistrate. It was a role that proved her heart was perhaps too big for the bench. Unable to bear the sight of impoverished offenders being penalised, she frequently ignored the protests of her fellow Justices of Peace and paid the fines of the defendants herself. Her colleagues held her in great esteem, but it was clear she was "far too kind-hearted... to be an effective magistrate."

Memorial Window for Jane Elizabeth Strickland
(1851-1932) at Clive Vale Congregation Church

Jane Strickland died at 83 during a holiday in Weston-super-Mare. Her passing marked the end of an era of "magnificent" conviction. As the HSLO eulogised:

"High moral courage and unflinching straightness, combined with a warm yet unsentimental heart... a quick, intelligent and keen detection of humbug, sham, or any sort falsity, made this strong combination of mother, wife, friend and public servant."[7]

Eulogy for Jane Elizabeth Strickland 1932

 

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Footnotes

[1] This seems unlikely; Mrs Stowe did not visit England until 1853. [2] HSLO, 27th January 1900; 6th February 1926. [3] Pankhurst, E. (1914) My Own Story, p15. [4] Pankhurst, E. (1914) My Own Story, p16. [5] Long since demolished, the site is now covered by Sports Direct. [6] HSLO, 9th November 1912. [7] HSLO, 17th September 1932.

**Jane Elizabeth Strickland lived at Halsteads, 15 Baldslow Road. Her mother, Mary Ann Slade lived at Walcot Lodge, 26 Laton Road.

About Helena Wojtczak

Herself having broken ground in a male-dominated world, we are lucky to have the above taster of acclaimed guest author Helena Wojtczak's upcoming book about Jane Elizabeth Strickland for Blacklands and Beyond (we will also try and keep you updated here on the book's publication at B&B.)

Author Helena Wojtczak
at book-signing in Hastings
3rd January 2026

Biography

Helena has had a number of books published by The Hastings Press. 

One of Helena's areas of interest and expertise is the history women of history:

• Notable Women of Victorian Hastings (2002)
• Women of Victorian Hastings (2002)
• Women of Victorian Sussex (2003)
• Railwaywomen (2005)
• Notable Sussex Women (2008)
• Mary Raleigh Richardson (2025)

She has also written:

• Jack the Ripper at Last? (2014)

and:

• Strange Exits from Hastings. Vol.I (2020)
• Strange Exits from Hastings. Vol.II (2021) 

for which Helena may be especially known by Hastings locals (see the accompanying photo).