AS Tameside marks International Women's Day, and the centenary of British women winning the right to vote, it's fitting that the Tameside College wing of the new Tameside One building in Ashton is being named in honour of suffragette Hannah Mitchell.
Hannah, who was born in 1871, lived on Elizabeth Street, Ashton, from 1900 to 1910. From an early age she objected to the domestic role women were then expected to play and became a key campaigner for women's rights.
In her autobiography, "The Hard Way Up", she stated: "I feel my greatest enemy has been the cooking stove — a sort of tyrant who has kept me in subjection."
Influenced by The Clarion newspaper, she began to speak at meetings of the Independent Labour Party. She later worked for Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst's Women's Social and Political Union before joining the Women's Freedom League.
In 1924 Hannah was elected to Manchester City Council and served until 1935. She died in 1956. There is a blue plaque dedicated to her on the wall of 43 Elizabeth Street, Ashton.
Jackie Moores, CEO and principal at Tameside College, said: "We are delighted and honoured to remember and recognise Hannah Mitchell in the Tameside College wing of the new Tameside One campus.
"It is a permanent reminder of how the college's values match those of our community. Hannah Mitchell will continue to inspire staff and students on and beyond International Women's day."
Tameside One is the centrepiece of the Vision Tameside project which is transforming the provision of further education in the borough.
As well as being shared by Tameside College, Tameside and Glossop Clinical Commissioning Group and Tameside Council, it will include Ashton Library, Citizens Advice Bureau and the Job Centre.
