Elizabeth Cadbury

QUAKER REFORMER

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Dame Elizabeth Cadbury (1858-1951) was the wife of Quaker businessman and housing reformer George Cadbury (1839-1922).

She deserves recognition in her own right for her public service supporting the welfare and education of women and children in Bournville, the garden suburb created by George Cadbury next to his chocolate factory on the outskirts of Birmingham, and in the city itself.

Elizabeth Taylor was born into a London family of Quaker philanthropists in 1858. Her parents’ religious faith expressed through service shaped her personal engagement with social reform. In 1888 she married George Cadbury and moved to Birmingham where she lived until her death in 1951.

Her marriage located her within a network of wealthy, middle-class Nonconformist families, the women of which were at the forefront of public philanthropy in Birmingham. She was involved in numerous local initiatives promoting female and child welfare, including work supporting the Young Women’s Christian Association in the Midlands.

Keywords: Women, Elizabeth Cadbury, Quaker, George Cadbury, Philanthropy, Bournville, Suffrage

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