Josephine Butler (1828-1906) was a campaigner for women’s rights in the nineteenth century. She was particularly active in supporting women and girls who were forced into prostitution either through poverty or by being trafficked. In an era when opprobrium was heaped on these women rather than on their clients, Butler campaigned for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, which subjected women to humiliating examinations and imprisonment. After decades of work, her campaign met with success when the acts were formally repealed in 1886, 140 years ago this year.
Mary Sumner (1928 – 1921) was born in the same year as Butler, and was the founder of the Mothers’ Union, which is 150 years old this year. During that time, it has grown into an international organisation supporting family life, and, in many parts of the world, offers essential social services that governments are unable to fund. It all began, though, in Hampshire, at a meeting in the Rectory of Old Alresford. Sumner was so nervous that she couldn’t speak at the meeting, and the women were invited to return the following week. Eventually she overcame her nerves and became a formidable force in promoting family wellbeing. So great was the success of the Mothers’ Union that Queen Victoria became patron of the organisation just two decades after it was founded, and it continues to thrive today.
These women lived in Winchester Cathedral Close because their husbands were Canons of the Cathedral. But it is they rather than their husbands who today are remembered for the pioneering work they did to better the lives of women and children. There are monuments to them, and their stories have been written, but their legacy really lies in those who still today work for women’s rights and family flourishing.
In 2026 The Mother’s Union runs programmes to improve women’s literacy and counter gender-based violence in many parts of our world. More locally, a new RISE UP campaign aims to raise awareness about domestic abuse across Britain and Ireland. In this its 150th anniversary year, it is still working to support women, children, and families.
Josephine Butler and Mary Sumner would be amazed that they are so remembered today that they are celebrated in the calendar of the Church of England – the nearest thing the Church of England has to making saints! They would be sad that injustice still stalks communities across the world. But far from becoming despondent, they would roll up their sleeves and call others to action, to make a better world.