Florence Annie Conybeare

Bohemian glass merchant's daughter

Florence Conybeare was born Florence Annie Strauss on 13 September 1872 at 10 St. Johns Villas, Brixton Road, Brixton, London. She was the eldest daughter of Gustave Strauss, a successful German-speaking Bohemian glass merchant and patented inventor, who emigrated to Britain and later became a naturalised British subject. Florence's father was born in 1843 in Gablonz, North Bohemia, a town in the Czech Republic known for glass and jewellery production. Florence's mother was Frances Lehmaier (b. 1852 New York, USA; d. 1893 London, England). Florence was the elder sister of Bernard Edwin Strauss (born 1874) and Lily Julia Strauss (1877-1955), who later married George May, 1st Baron May, and became Lady Lily Julia May, 1st Baroness of Weybridge.

1881: Bleak House, Brixton

In 1881, Florence (8) was living with her father (38) and mother (29) in Bleak House, 7 Elgin Gardens, Effra Road, Brixton, in the Borough of Lambeth, London. She lived there with her brother Bernard Edwin (6 yrs) and sister Lily (4 yrs). Their household was run by four domestic servants and a cook.

1891: Kensington

By 3 April 1891, aged 18, Florence Strauss had moved to 2 West Bolton Gardens, Kensington, London—with her parents. No-one is listed as head of the household on that day as her parents were not present for census purposes. There were six servants looking after the household.

Marriage

On 15 October 1896, Florence Annie Strauss, a twenty-four-year-old spinster from West Kensington, married the 43-year-old bachelor, former Liberal MP for Camborne, Cornwall, and practising barrister, Charles Augustus Vansittart Conybeare. The marriage was conducted in accordance with to the rites and ceremonies of the Theistic Church. The service was officiated by Charles Voysey, a freethinking Yorkshire vicar who was deposed for publishing heretical sermons and for denying the doctrine of everlasting hell. The church was situated in Swallow Street, Piccadilly, in the District of Westminster, London. Florence's brother and sister, Bernard and Lily, also got married in the same Theistic Church in 1900 and 1903, respectively.

Marriage settlement

On marriage, Florence Conybeare became the 'beneficial owner' of, among other properties, the Tregullow Offices, a small dwelling and former mine office in Scorrier in the County of Cornwall, as part of a marriage settlement which her husband, Charles A.V. Conybeare, arranged with various parties including the wealthy merchant banker Isaac Seligman. The marriage settlement was effected by means of a Deed of Trust signed by three moneylenders, two of whom had attended the same public school as Charles Conybeare: Tonbridge School, in Kent, and one family member (uncle). "In those days, a marriage settlement was settled upon the marriage." Such settlements can be compared to prenuptials and should not be confused with financial settlements made on the dissolution of a marriage. In those days, it was a convenient way for a husband-to-be to make adequate financial provision for his wife-to-be. This prevented a wife from otherwise becoming destitute as a result of the husband deserting his wife, or from having to resort to prostitution in order to support herself.

1896 Deed of Trust

Background
On 11 March 1891, Florence's husband Charles Conybeare conveyed various properties by way of a mortgage to William Henry Luard Pattisson and to the parties referred to in Point 2 of the 1896 Deed of Trust. In this mortgage arrangement, Charles Conybeare was able to secure a loan of ₤3,000 from his moneylenders, using the properties as collateral for the loan and the repayment of interest on the outstanding loan.

Deed of Trust
On 14 October 1896, the day before Florence got married, Charles A. V. Conybeare placed those "various properties" including the Tregullow Offices (known together as "the estate") in trust—which properties were still subject to a mortgage—to Henry Grant Madan Conybeare (Charles's brother and JP) and merchant banker Isaac Seligman. As a result, Henry Conybeare and Isaac Seligman became the legal owners and trustees of the estate. This construction enabled Charles Conybeare to confer financial benefits to Florence Conybeare, so that when parts of the estate were sold, she would be entitled to a share of the proceeds. The Deed of Trust that was drawn up to make this possible, recognised four interested parties: 1. Charles A.V. Conybeare (husband and trustor). 2. Jacob Luard Pattisson (civil servant), James Jollie Pattisson (teacher) and Bixby Garnham Luard (vicar and uncle to the first two): the mortgagees (read: moneylenders). 3. Charles A.V. Conybeare and Florence Annie Conybeare (beneficial owners). 4. Isaac Seligman and Henry Grant Madan Conybeare (legal owners and trustees).

"Although Henry Conybeare and Isaac Seligman became the owners of the legal estate the moment it was conveyed to them in 1896, they never actually owned the properties themselves. They simply held on to the properties in trust as part of a marriage settlement, and were only entitled to act on the couple's instructions", not independently of them.

Florence sells property interest
On 21 July 1902, Florence Conybeare was a co-signatory to the 1902 Deed of Conveyance (Indenture) which instructed Isaac Seligman and Henry Conybeare to sell her beneficial interest in one of the estate's properties, namely, the Tregullow Offices. In doing so, she effectively sold that property with her husband, for ₤170, to a mining engineer called Charles Rule Williams, who had recently returned from Mexico after working 15 years in silver mines at Zimapan. The new owner changed the name of the property to Zimapan Villa.

Marital homes

Florence and Charles Conybeare lived the first part of their married life in the fashionable part of London at No. 3 Carlyle Mansions, Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, in a flat overlooking the Thames. She lived very close to another Women's Rights campaigner, Sylvia Pankhurst, who lived down the road at No. 120 Cheyne Walk. In 1891, Florence and Charles Conybeare MP Camborne, Cornwall, moved to Tregullow House, Scorrier, Cornwall, a country pile owned by John Williams the 5th, a direct descendant of the Williams mining-moguls' dynasty. She remained there in Cornwall until at least 1902. The couple later moved to Oakfield Park in Dartford, Kent.

1907: Women's Enfranchisement Bill

Florence Conybeare was an active organiser, supporter and voice within the Women’s Suffrage movement. Florence Conybeare had supported Mr. W.H. Dickenson's Women's Enfranchisement Bill which received its first reading on 8 March 1907. Up till then, married women living in the same house were not regarded as 'joint owners' of that property in the eyes of the law. The Dickenson Bill proposed that husband and wife living under the same roof should both be considered as 'joint occupiers' of the property which, as a consequence, would give married women equal status with men and the right to vote.

1908: Women's Suffrage: A Liberal Principle

In her ‘treatise’ Some Objections Answered published in 1908, in which she claimed that "Women’s Suffrage is essentially a Liberal principle", Florence Conybeare (aka: Mrs C.A.V. Conybeare) wrote a reply to an article written by Edith Calkin, one of the women critics of Women’s Suffrage. She rebuked Calkin for wanting to deny women political recognition and argued why women should be given the right to vote, and aired her objections to Edith Calkin’s approach to women's rights.

The inequities of legislation

The plight of working women

1913: Suffragist meeting at Dartford

On 24 July 1913, a meeting of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies was held in a meadow in Bullace Lane where the Australian suffragist, Miss Muriel Matters, had been invited to address a gathering on the subject of votes for women. The event was organised by, and presided over by, Florence Conybeare of Oakfield Park, Dartford, Kent, whose husband Charles Conybeare had been a Liberal MP from 1885 until 1895. Florence kicked off the meeting by mounting the wagon which was being used as a stage. Her introduction made it clear that they were not militant suffragists, and that they sought to make changes by argument rather than by force.

Speech: Australian vs. British suffragism

Muriel Matters, who had been sentenced to a month in Holloway Prison for obstruction, having earlier chained herself to a grille in the House of Commons, arrived by car with her entourage, as part of a publicity tour around the area, termed a 'pilgrimage'. In her speech, she contrasted the situation in this country with that in Australia where women already had the vote [ed. in 1902, see Women's suffrage in Australia], pointing out that women in Britain were being treated in the same way as criminals, foreigners and lunatics, despite having to pay taxes.

The journalist who reported on the event believed that most people who turned up for the meeting were not actually interested in votes for women at all, but had instead come to witness any trouble if there was any. The only violence on the day of the Dartford meeting, however, was a stone which was thrown at the wagon from a neighbouring backyard, but no damage was caused. At the end of the speech, Florence Conybeare invited Councillor W.H.D. King to give the vote of thanks. He said that he felt ashamed that he had the vote while they did not, but thanked the party for recognising Dartford as a place of importance worth visiting.

Voluntary Aid Detachment

Florence Conybeare was actively engaged in Voluntary Aid Detachment work at Charing Cross Hospital, London. On 13 January 1916, when Lady Henry Grosvenor held a meeting at the new YMCA Hut at Dartford, Florence was present in VAD uniform. "Whatever she took up, Mrs Conybeare did thoroughly and with a will".

Fundraising for the Western Front

Florence Conybeare was actively involved in fundraising in Dartford during the First World War. "As the grim reality developed in France, an appeal went out from Florence Conybeare, to 'all Florence's'. Her plan was to raise money to purchase and equip an ambulance which would be sent to the Western Front which would be used to move wounded British soldiers—referred to as "the devoted sons of our Empire" on Florence's memorial stone—from the battlegrounds back to the field hospitals. Not only did she want this done, she wanted volunteers called "Florences" to "man" the ambulance in France! She managed to raise the money, but she never got her wish to man the ambulance with Florence's.

Women's Liberal Association

Florence was President of the Dartford Women's Liberal Association [ed. Federation], and had largely been responsible for the setting up and running of the Babies Club.

Last days

Florence Conybeare died at her father's home in 2 West Bolton Gardens, Kensington, London, on 29 February 1916, aged 43. She left no issue. During the preceding 18 months, she had been in failing health, but no-one had anticipated her sudden demise from pneumonia. Her husband, Charles Conybeare, was unfortunately at Canterbury at the time. Florence was cremated and a memorial service was held for her in London. She was buried in the cemetery of St Mary the Virgin Church, Fryerning, Ingatestone, Essex, and lies close to Charles Conybeare's parents. Charles Conybeare had a large obelisk-shaped memorial erected in her memory, which is mounted upon a square stone plinth, and devised the following poignant inscription:

Memorial

Here rest the ashes of Florence Annie
The beloved wife of Charles Augustus Vansittart Conybeare
Late of 'Tregullow', Cornwall
Who gave her life in devoted service to the gallant sons of our Empire
She passed into immortality
on February 29th 1916
aged 43
She is not dead

Afterword

On 18 August 1916, probate was granted on Florence Conybeare's will in London to her husband Charles A.V. Conybeare. Florence died a wealthy lady, leaving effects totalling £5,392 6s 2d, which in today's money [2010] is equivalent to £232,193.