Ethel Bright Ashford (1883–1980) was an English politician and one of the first women barristers. She was a local councillor forMarylebone, and was involved in social work.[1]
She was born in Beckenham, Kent on March 18, 1883, the fourth of five children of Henry Bright Ashford and his wife Lydia,née Bridges.[2] She attendedCroydon High School and gained a BA from theUniversity of London in 1906, and then pursued postgraduate study in social work and history atWoodbrooke College, Birmingham, theLondon School of Economics, andBryn Mawr, Pennsylvania from 1908 to 1912.[3]
In 1912, Ashford was appointed Assistant Inspector and Official Lecturer for theNational Health Insurance Commission. This work was interrupted byWorld War I, when she became managing director of the family business, Ashford & Ashfordhosiery manufacturers, between 1917 and 1919 while her brothers were at war.[4] During this time she became involved in the Women's Municipal Party, which advocated for women in politics and recommended that women be admitted to the bar; and she co-wroteA Handbook to Local Government (1918) with Edith Place.[5]
In 1919 she was elected toSt Marylebone Borough Council as a councillor for Park Crescent Ward, a position she held until 1953.[3]
When theSex Disqualification (Removal) Act was passed at the end of 1919, Ashford joinedMiddle Temple as soon as it reopened after Christmas and began studying for thebar.[6] She was called to the Bar along withHelena Normanton (who had been admitted to Middle Temple two weeks before her) on November 17, 1922.[7]
Ashford had a tenancy in New Court Chambers and did criminal and common law work, with a particular emphasis on local government law.[6][8] She found her legal work 'intensely interesting' but not sufficient to fill her time or her financial needs.[9] As well as continuing her local government work, she travelled around the country speaking to women's groups.[8]
She publishedLocal Government: A Simple Treatise in 1929 and co-authored three books on Glen's law with Randolph and Alexander Glen between 1933 and 1936, among other works on law and local history.[10][11]
In 1939 she travelled toNazi Germany with a pro-fascist group,The Link.
Her causes in later life centred around civic planning and the preservation of rural areas, including a campaign against air pollution with theCampaign to Protect Rural England in 1944.[12]
Ashford died aged 97 in June 1980, at St Mary's nursing home in Broadstairs, Kent.[13]