Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury (1858-1951): religion, maternalism and social reform in Birmingham, 1888-1914

Smith, Helen Victoria (2012). Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury (1858-1951): religion, maternalism and social reform in Birmingham, 1888-1914. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the work undertaken by Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury (1858-1951) to support social reform in Bournville and Birmingham during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It concentrates on her involvement in the development and promotion of Bournville village, the establishment and management of elementary and infant schools in Bournville and her local government work implementing school medical treatment provision in Birmingham. The thesis argues that Taylor Cadbury’s approach to social reform was shaped by her sense of religious faithfulness expressed through social service and by perceptions of women’s maternal expertise, demonstrating that she engaged with maternal work supporting social welfare as a form of religious service. Interpretation of Taylor Cadbury has been informed by the production of a revised catalogue of her largely unexplored personal archive within the Cadbury Family Papers. This catalogue enhances access to papers created and preserved by Taylor Cadbury and provides insight into the religious and social discourses within which she defined her identity and social work. By combining archival cataloguing with analysis of Taylor Cadbury’s philanthropic and municipal activities, this thesis offers a distinctive contribution to scholarship exploring how women identified with religion and maternalism in their social reform work during this period.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

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