Laurence and Clemence Housman

Laurence and Clemence were the younger siblings of poet A E Housman, best remembered for 'A Shropshire Lad'. Their elder brother had scant sympathy for women's suffrage. But Laurence and Clemence provided the creative inspiration for the census boycott - he very publicly, she more privately.

Their suffrage banner-making skills were remarkable. One of the best-known was Laurence's 'From Prison to Citizenship' banner, here carried in procession shortly after the census boycott.

Laurence Housman's banner, 'From Prison to Citizenship', procession,
June 1911. Museum of London. Click image to enlarge.

Clemence played a quiet but crucial role in the Women's Tax Resistance League. And the Suffrage Atelier found a home in the Housmans' own studio in Kensington. One the Atelier's targets was John Burns, the cabinet minister responsible for the 1911 census.

John Burns, 'Taxation and Representation', Suffrage Atelier poster.
Museum of London. Click image to enlarge.

On census night, Laurence hospitably opened his home to suffragette evaders. Meanwhile, tax-resister Clemence hid away in Dorset, outfacing census officials when they came to call.

Census schedule, Laurence Housman, Kensington.
The National Archives. Click image to enlarge.

Census schedule, Clemence Housman, Swanage, Dorset.
The National Archives. Click image to enlarge.

Links

The Housman Society for more information about the Housmans.

Retracing Laurence's 1903 walk: a sponsored walk took place in July 2014. Housman 2014 Walk