BSU commemorates its Suffragette Tree
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BSU commemorates women’s suffrage movement in Bath with a plaque dedicated to its ‘Suffragette Tree’
Friday, 7 March, 2025Bath Spa University has paid homage to the women’s suffrage movement in Bath with a plaque commemorating its ‘Suffragette Tree’ at Newton Park, as part of the University’s International Women’s Day events, on Friday 7 March – nearly 14 years to the day since the tree was planted.
BSU’s Suffragette Tree is one of three commemorating the arboretum at Eagle House, near Bath, once owned by the Suffragette Emily Blathwayt and her husband Colonel Linley Blathwayt. The house became an important refuge for Suffragettes who had been released from prison after hunger strikes. Between 1909 and 1911, at least 47 trees were planted in the grounds to commemorate these women. Sadly, the trees were destroyed in the 1960s to make way for a new housing estate.
In 2010, a group of History lecturers and researchers at BSU launched a campaign to plant new trees commemorating the lost arboretum, and in March 2011, three trees were planted in Bath – one in Victoria Park, one in Alice Park and BSU’s tree at Newton Park.
Two members of that original BSU team, Professor Elaine Chalus and Dr Roberta Anderson, were invited and returned to Newton Park to take part in the dedication ceremony.
Professor Elaine Chalus said:
“The Suffragettes Tree project arose as a way of celebrating the centenary of International Women’s Day in 2011 and commemorating the vanished Suffragettes’ arboretum. We felt that the arboretum was a very important local testimony to the Suffragette cause and yet few knew about it. It was a piece of women’s history that needed to be recovered and publicised.”
With financial support from mostly women donors around the country and the collaboration of Bath Spa University and Bath and North East Somerset Council, the team were able to put on a week’s worth of activities and plant the three commemorative trees.
Elaine continued:
“I am very pleased to be involved in what we achieved and am thrilled that a plaque has finally been unveiled to commemorate the BSU tree and the Suffragettes Tree project.”
The plaque, which was installed alongside other commemorative plaques in the University’s amphitheatre, is sponsored by the BSU Women’s Network. It includes a short inscription with a QR code leading to a page on the University’s website explaining the history of the women’s suffrage movement in Bath, written by Ellis Naylor, Educational Partnerships Officer and PhD History student at BSU.
Amethyst Biggs, Communications and Brand Development Coordinator and co-chair of the BSU Women’s Network, said:
“I’ve always thought it was a shame that there wasn’t some kind of marker commemorating our Suffragette Tree, especially since the project was spearheaded by former colleagues at BSU. I’m really pleased to have worked with my fellow Women’s Network co-chairs Melissa Mulhall and Dr Rachel Bynoth, and with Ellis Naylor, who contributed the content for the website, to permanently recognise this important piece of women’s history and its connection to the University.”
Melissa Mulhall, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Academic Planning and co-chair of the BSU Women’s Network, said:
“I am absolutely thrilled that we can reaffirm and pay our respects to the women’s suffrage movement and its connections to Bath and the University through commemorating our Suffragette Tree. Our tree was planted in 2011 as part of a project spearheaded by a BSU team to preserve the history of the lost arboretum. It therefore feels fitting 14 years later in International Women’s Week to ensure that we continue to raise awareness of the tree and its historical importance through the installation of this plaque.”
Ellis Naylor, Educational Partnerships Officer and PhD History student at BSU, said:
“I first discovered the story of Eagle House through my undergraduate History degree at BSU where I specifically uncovered the activities of Mary Blathwayt and her family for my final year dissertation. This research then influenced my History MA thesis, which further explored the women’s suffrage story in Bath, as well as now fueling my PhD research on 19th century women and politics. This research is extremely close to my heart and I’m really excited – and feel privileged – that it has been part of illustrating the need for a commemorative plaque at BSU.”
Dr Rachel Bynoth, Senior Lecturer in Historical and Critical Studies and co-chair of the BSU Women’s Network, said:
“Like my co-chairs, I am delighted that we are permanently recognising the importance of suffrage movements in Bath, continuing the key work done by Professor Elaine Chalus and Dr Roberta Anderson in 2011, when they planted the Suffragette trees, including the one here at Bath Spa University. Ellis Naylor’s excellent article offers an opportunity for everyone to find out about the local connections to national suffrage historical narratives and is an important example of how histories are still relevant and still shaping our world today.”
After the dedication ceremony, guests had the opportunity to visit the Suffragette Tree along the lakeside walk at Newton Park, a short distance from the amphitheatre, followed by celebratory drinks in the University’s Commons building.
Summing up the importance of the event, Ellis said:
“It is so important to recover and celebrate women's hidden stories and voices from the past, and the decision to celebrate our Suffragette Tree for International Women's Day is doing exactly this. It creates an invitation for conversation, a re-understanding of the women's suffrage movement in the city of Bath and beyond and demonstrates that this movement is part of BSU's own identity.”
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Do you want to visit our Suffragette Tree at Newton Park? You’ll find it by taking the downhill path towards the lake. As the path slopes upwards and heads towards the Temple, the tree – a small conifer – will be on your left, with the Temple approximately 50 metres ahead.