Shena Simon
Encyclopedia
Shena Dorothy Simon was a politician and educational reformer in Manchester
, England
.
She had a privileged upbringing in a liberal, upper middle class family.
Although she studied at Newnham College, Cambridge
and then the London School of Economics
, she was not granted a formal degree since the University of Cambridge
did not grant full membership to women until 1946.
In 1911, Shena Potter became secretary of a committee for safeguarding women's rights under Lloyd George's insurance bill.
She was introduced to Ernest Darwin Simon by Sydney and Beatrice Webb
, who thought she would make an ideal wife for him.
Ernest was the son of Henry Simon, a wealthy Victorian industrialist.
Shena married him in 1912, and they were to have two sons, Roger
and Brian
, and a daughter, Antonia.
Her husband was Lord Mayor of Manchester from 1921 to 1922.
As Lady Mayoress, Shena caused a stir by refusing to attend a function at St Mary's Hospital for Women
because there were no women on the Board or among the medical staff.
Shena Simon was a member of the Manchester City Council
from 1924 to 1933, when she was voted out by the Conservatives
.
She was a member of the Royal Committee on Licensing in 1929 and a member of the Manchester Estate Council from 1931 to 1933.
In 1926, Shena and Ernest Simon donated the Wythenshawe Park to the city of Manchester for use of the people living on the Wythenshawe estate.
She felt that parks were important, and later was to observe that there was a severe shortage of such open space in Manchester.
She devoted much energy to planning the Wythenshawe
housing estate, but her recommendations were not always practical. For example, she fought for glazing bars in windows since they would make the housing more cottage-like in appearance, although the windows would be harder to clean.
She accepted the conventional division of labor between men and women, at least for the working classes, where the woman minded the home.
She became Chairperson of the Education Committee 1932-1933.
From 1933 she was actively involved in the Spens Report on secondary education reform, serving as a representative of the Local Education Authorities. On the committee she argued forcefully for abolition of fees in secondary schools, although she could not always get her way.
In 1933 Shena, her husband and Eva Hubback co-founded the Association for Education in Citizenship.
Her husband was knighted in 1932.
He became chairman of the council of Victoria University
in 1939, was a sponsor of construction of the Jodrell Bank
radio telescope, and from 1947 to 1952 was chairman of the BBC.
Lady Simon became a member of the Labour Party in 1935, and was appointed to the Departmental Committee on Valuation of Dwelling Houses in 1938.
She was Chair of the Further Education Sub-Committee for seven years.
In 1946 she became Chair of the Education Advisory Committee of the Workers Educational Associations.
In 1964 she was made a freeman of the city.
Speaking at that occasion, she said:
Shena Simon died on 17 July 1972.
The Shena Simon campus of City College Manchester
is named after her.
of the 1937 book Moscow in the Making.
In 1939 Shena Simon published her book A Hundred Years of City Government, Manchester 1838-1938.
She was also the author of several pamphlets on education.
For example, in 1944 she published The four freedoms in secondary education.
The Fabian Society
published her pamphlet on The Education Act, 1944,: Provisions and possibilities in 1945.
Her pamphlet Three Schools or One? (1948) called for establishment of multilateral or comprehensive schools.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Early years
Shena Dorothy Potter was born on 21 October 1883, daughter of John Wilson Potter and Jane Boyd Potter.She had a privileged upbringing in a liberal, upper middle class family.
Although she studied at Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...
and then the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, she was not granted a formal degree since the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
did not grant full membership to women until 1946.
In 1911, Shena Potter became secretary of a committee for safeguarding women's rights under Lloyd George's insurance bill.
She was introduced to Ernest Darwin Simon by Sydney and Beatrice Webb
Beatrice Webb
Martha Beatrice Webb, Lady Passfield was an English sociologist, economist, socialist and social reformer. Although her husband became Baron Passfield in 1929, she refused to be known as Lady Passfield...
, who thought she would make an ideal wife for him.
Ernest was the son of Henry Simon, a wealthy Victorian industrialist.
Shena married him in 1912, and they were to have two sons, Roger
Roger Simon, 2nd Baron Simon of Wythenshawe
Roger Simon, 2nd Baron Simon of Wythenshawe was a British solicitor and left wing journalist and political activist. He was one of the founders of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament....
and Brian
Brian Simon
Professor the Hon. Brian Simon , was an English educationist and historian.-Background and early life:The younger son of Ernest Darwin Simon, 1st Baron Simon of Wythenshawe and Shena, Lady Simon, he was the brother of the second Baron Simon of Wythenshawe, Roger Simon, the solicitor and writer on...
, and a daughter, Antonia.
Career
Shena founded the "Women Citizens' Association" in Manchester, a local branch of the National Women Citizens' Association.Her husband was Lord Mayor of Manchester from 1921 to 1922.
As Lady Mayoress, Shena caused a stir by refusing to attend a function at St Mary's Hospital for Women
St Mary's Hospital, Manchester
St Mary's Hospital is a hospital in Manchester, England. It is part of Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It was founded in 1790. St Mary's provides a unique range of inter-related services specifically for women and children...
because there were no women on the Board or among the medical staff.
Shena Simon was a member of the Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
from 1924 to 1933, when she was voted out by the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
She was a member of the Royal Committee on Licensing in 1929 and a member of the Manchester Estate Council from 1931 to 1933.
In 1926, Shena and Ernest Simon donated the Wythenshawe Park to the city of Manchester for use of the people living on the Wythenshawe estate.
She felt that parks were important, and later was to observe that there was a severe shortage of such open space in Manchester.
She devoted much energy to planning the Wythenshawe
Wythenshawe
Wythenshawe is a district in the south of the city of Manchester, England.Formerly part of the administrative county of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the 1920s to resolve the problem of its inner...
housing estate, but her recommendations were not always practical. For example, she fought for glazing bars in windows since they would make the housing more cottage-like in appearance, although the windows would be harder to clean.
She accepted the conventional division of labor between men and women, at least for the working classes, where the woman minded the home.
She became Chairperson of the Education Committee 1932-1933.
From 1933 she was actively involved in the Spens Report on secondary education reform, serving as a representative of the Local Education Authorities. On the committee she argued forcefully for abolition of fees in secondary schools, although she could not always get her way.
In 1933 Shena, her husband and Eva Hubback co-founded the Association for Education in Citizenship.
Her husband was knighted in 1932.
He became chairman of the council of Victoria University
Victoria University (UK)
Victoria University was an English federal university established by Royal Charter, 20 April 1880 at Manchester: a university for the North of England open to affiliation by colleges such as Owens College which immediately did so. University College Liverpool joined the University in 1884, followed...
in 1939, was a sponsor of construction of the Jodrell Bank
Jodrell Bank
The Jodrell Bank Observatory is a British observatory that hosts a number of radio telescopes, and is part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester...
radio telescope, and from 1947 to 1952 was chairman of the BBC.
Lady Simon became a member of the Labour Party in 1935, and was appointed to the Departmental Committee on Valuation of Dwelling Houses in 1938.
She was Chair of the Further Education Sub-Committee for seven years.
In 1946 she became Chair of the Education Advisory Committee of the Workers Educational Associations.
In 1964 she was made a freeman of the city.
Speaking at that occasion, she said:
-
- "Happiness, a much more fundamental conception than mere enjoyment or pleasure, depends upon the existence of life and liberty, but it cannot be pursued by the individual unless he has had a chance to develop, first as a child, and then as an adult, all his interests and faculties, varied as they are between each member of society. I do not for a moment suggest that we are even yet in sight of that goal, but that it must be our “guiding light” has been my belief for the forty years that I have been a member of the Education Committee".
Shena Simon died on 17 July 1972.
The Shena Simon campus of City College Manchester
City College Manchester
City College Manchester was a network of further education campuses in Manchester, England.It was the largest provider of "Offender Learning" in the Greater Manchester region.-Merger with MANCAT in 2008:...
is named after her.
Publications
Shena Simon was co-author with her husband Ernest Simon, William Alexander Robson and John JewkesJohn Jewkes
John Jewkes was a British classical liberal economist. He was Professor of Economic Organisation at Merton College, Oxford.His main work, Ordeal by Planning, was written in 1946; in it he argues that the central planning implemented in the United Kingdom during World War II can only lead to...
of the 1937 book Moscow in the Making.
In 1939 Shena Simon published her book A Hundred Years of City Government, Manchester 1838-1938.
She was also the author of several pamphlets on education.
For example, in 1944 she published The four freedoms in secondary education.
The Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
published her pamphlet on The Education Act, 1944,: Provisions and possibilities in 1945.
Her pamphlet Three Schools or One? (1948) called for establishment of multilateral or comprehensive schools.