Informal discussions continue about suggestions for a sculpture of a woman in Cooper Street to add to those commemorating Bideford’s (male) history. 

One contender is a formidable woman about whom we have already written in this column. Eliza Honey, who took over the running of the Bideford Gazette after the death of her husband and became – in the words of Peter Christie – ‘the only female newspaper editor in the nineteenth century in England’ certainly deserves consideration.

The artist and painter Judith Ackland and her partner Mary Stella Edwards must also be in the frame. Judith was born in Bideford in 1892 and studied at Bideford Art School before going on to continue her education and training in London. She and Mary Stella Edwards are remembered for making the cabin at Bucks Mills (now National Trust) as their studio and produced ‘dioramas’ or painted models as well as beautiful watercolours, some of which are now part of the Burton collection. 

Among aristocrats, Honor Grenville, aunt of Sir Richard, also deserves local attention. She inherited the manor of Umberleigh from her first husband and became Viscountess Lisle through marriage to a second husband, Arthur Plantagenet, who was Lord Deputy of Calais under Henry VIII. They acquired lands from Frithelstock Priory after the dissolution. While they were living in Calais, Lisle was arrested under suspicion of treason and a vast correspondence produced by the couple was confiscated. This is now preserved in the National Archives and Honor’s letters are particularly valued. Although her husband was exonerated, he died in the Tower of London and Honor’s reputation never recovered in her lifetime. 

Lady Margaret Beaufort is another courtly figure from the Tudor era whose reputation has suffered from historical prejudice. She was the mother of Henry VII and, when he came to the throne, she was granted the manor of Torrington and became a powerful figure at the Tudor court. Like Honor Grenville, she deserves a truer historical commemoration.

We would do well to commemorate Christine Hamlyn-Fane, whose work in revitalising Clovelly is well known. She inherited the Clovelly estate in 1884 and married Frederick Gosling, whom she persuaded to change his name to Hamlyn. Together, they devoted their lives and fortunes to renovating and upgrading all the properties on the estate. 

We are certainly not short of short of female historical figures to remember, perhaps readers would like to suggest a few more?