Jessie Beatrice Kitson

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jessie Beatrice Kitson
Born1876
Died1965
Known forFirst woman to be
Lord Mayor of Leeds

Jessie Beatrice Kitson (1876–1965) was the first woman to be

Lord Mayor of Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire
, England. She was Lord Mayor from 1942 to 1943.

Life

Kitson came from the well-known Leeds family and was the fourth member of the family to serve as lord mayor.

Princess Mary who lived nearby at Harewood House.[6] She was also a correspondent of Mary Kingsley, who she stayed in contact with after she spoke in Leeds.[5]

Kitson had several close female friendships throughout her lifetime, including Miss E M Woodgate, to whose home she retired to in 1945.[5] A close friend in Leeds was Ethel Mallinson.[5]

Career

Public service was central to Kitson's work: in 1913 she was elected to the Leeds Board of Guardians.[5] However, although she was a member of the Otley Women's Liberal Association 1914-15, she tried to stay apart from party politics.[5] She spoke publicly against women's suffrage.[5] She did stand to be an independent councillor after the First World War, but was not elected.[5]

Kitson was elected

Elinor Gertrude Lupton (1886–1979) served as her Lady Mayoress.[9] Lupton described herself and Kitson as "the two worst dressed ladies in Leeds".[10] The two women were related; Lupton's second cousin, Lady Airedale née Florence von Schunck (d.1942), had married Kitson's first cousin - Albert Kitson, 2nd Baron Airedale (d.1944) - in Leeds in 1890.[11]

Jessie Beatrice Kitson's portrait was painted in oils by A. R. Middleton Todd. It is held in Leeds Civic Hall.[12]

At her death in 1965, she was described as "of "Elmet", Brimpton, near Reading" and left an estate of £38,281.[13]

Honours

In 1944, the

LL.D.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Fantastic photo flashback to year Leeds had its first female Lord Mayor". Newsroom. Leeds City Council. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  2. ^ Bradford, Eveleigh. "Robert Hawthorn Kitson (1873–1947) Artist, Patron, Exile". They Lived in Leeds. Thoresby Society. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  3. ^ Bradford, Eveleigh. "James Kitson, 1807 – 1885: Pioneering Engineer and Industrialist – A Model of Self-Help". They Lived in Leeds. Thoresby Society. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  4. ^ Kitson, Jessie Beatrice (2017). "Autobiography of Beatrice Kitson - Young adulthood". Phelps Ancestry. Retrieved 22 December 2020. Halliwick (school) Reunion - J.B.K. - middle row, far right
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h 'THE KITSONS AND THE ARTS: A LEEDING FAMILY IN SICILY AND THE WEST RIDING' David Boswell (D Phil. Thesis, 1994)
  6. ^ Suttenstall, S. "Jessie Beatrice Kitson". S. Suttenstall 1988. Retrieved 5 June 2019. The Princess Royal – Mary as she was known to Miss Kitson – was a frequent Royal visitor to the City, and also a personal friend of the Lord Mayor.
  7. ^ "Lord Mayors & Aldermen of Leeds since 1626" (PDF). Leeds City Council. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Armistice Day, Leeds General Post Office Building, City Square". Leodis. Leeds City Council. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Paul Jones Flag". Leodis. Leeds City Council. Retrieved 1 May 2019. Image of Kitson and Lupton
  10. ^ "Paul Jones Flag". Yorkshire Evening News. Retrieved 22 November 2020 – via www.leodis.org.
  11. ISBN 978-0648862604
    . Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Miss J. B. Kitson, JP, Lord Mayor of Leeds (1942–1943)". Art UK. Retrieved 1 May 2019. Includes image of portrait
  13. ^ "Deaths". The Times. 25 October 1965. p. 12.
  14. ^ "Honorary Graduates: 1904–2018". University of Leeds. Retrieved 1 May 2019.

External links

  • "The Life of Jessie Beatrice Kitson". Phelps Ancestry. Family history website which includes text of Kitson's "autobiography" written for a meeting of "The Little Owls" ladies' group
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jessie_Beatrice_Kitson&oldid=1147748733"