Mary Higgs
Mary Higgs | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 February 1854 |
| Died | 19 March 1937 (aged 83) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Awards | |
Mary Ann Higgs OBE, born Mary Ann Kingsland (1854–1937) was a British writer and social reformer who was associated with the town of Oldham and housing for women. Her works include Oldham's Garden Suburb and the Twentieth Century New Testament.
Life
Higgs was born in Devizes, Wiltshire. She was the first child born to Caroline (née Paddon) and William Kingsland. Her father was a Congregational minister and in 1862, his work took the family north to Bradford. Higgs had two younger siblings.[1]
Higgs was chosen to be one of the pupils at the College for Women in Hitchin in 1871. Two years later, the college moved to Cambridge to become Girton College. Higgs was a founding student of Girton and the first woman to sit the university's natural science tripos. She was not awarded a Cambridge degree due to her gender, but was employed as an assistant lecturer at Girton.[2]
Higgs was the founder of the Beautiful Oldham Society, and she is credited with inspiring the creation of Oldham's Garden Suburb, intended to high quality but affordable housing.[3]
She initiated the project of translating the New Testament into contemporary language that resulted in the Twentieth Century New Testament.[4][5]
Higgs's campaigning gained attention when she disguised herself as a homeless woman to investigate the options available to them. The resulting book "Where Shall She Live?", co-written with Edward Heyward, was published in 1910. She also co-founded the National Association of Women's Lodging Houses and produced pamphlets to highlight the limited housing options open to women. [2]
Personal life
Higgs married Congregational minister Reverend Thomas Kilpin Higgs in 1879. They shared four children. Higgs joined Thomas when he moved to Staffordshire, Manchester, then Oldham for his work – in Oldham, Thomas led the Greenacres Congregational Church from 1891 to his death in 1907.[4]
Death and legacy
Higgs died in 1937, the same year that she was given an OBE.[4] In 2009, the Oldham community celebrated the centenary of the Garden Suburb.[3] In 2011, Oldham’s Pupil Support and Specialist Learning Centre was renamed Kingsland School to honour her contribution to the town.[6]
References
- ^ Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (23 September 2004). "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/38523. Retrieved 6 August 2023. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b "Higgs, Mary | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ a b "100 years of life in the Suburb". www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ a b c "Papers relating to The Twentieth Century New Testament – Archives Hub". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ Brown, Michael Joseph (1 January 2001). Genesis for Everyone. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-664-22941-2.
- ^ "Mary's legacy will go down in history books". www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2023.