Catalogue Number
NMLH.2019.12
Object Name
Bannerette
Title
Women's Freedom League / Stone Walls do not a Prison Make / Holloway
Place
Holloway Prison
Events
Votes for Women campaign
Description
Women's Freedom League bannerette.
Miniature banner in yellow and black, featuring a drawing of Holloway Prison with the words "Women's Freedom League", "Stone walls do not a prison make" and "Holloway". The banner also includes drawings of inverted arrows, a symbol that became associated with prisoners, due to its presence on the government-issued prison uniforms.
The Women's Freedom League was formed in 1907 by 77 members of the Women's Social and Political Union who disagreed with Christabel Pankhurst's announcement that the W.S.P.U would no longer hold an annual conference and that the decisions of the W.S.P.U would be made by an appointed committee. The League favoured non-violent forms of protest, but often still in ways that broke the law. These included the non-payment of taxes, refusing to complete census forms, chaining themselves to railings and objects in the Houses of Parliament, and destroying ballot papers during elections, for which two members were sent to Holloway.
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