suffragehistory

See www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2765476716/

I can verify the title - this is indeed the burnt out remains of the tea house, now rebuilt as the Pavilion Restaurant, at Kew Gardens. More historical info can be found at www.kew.org/heritage/timeline/1885to1945_unification.html

I believe this article from the New York Times explains what happened here: query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D0CEFDF103BE633A...

"'WILD WOMEN' BURN AND SMASH FOR VOTE" -- Yes, that's amazing stuff! How did we ever live without this kind of free access to the pre-1923 New York Times online? How many of us would ever have gone to the library and scrolled through the microfilm for this kind of thing?

Those gals rampaged elsewhere too. I'll find some references.

This wasn't their only visit to Kew... query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70A16FD385F13738...

7th March 1913: Suffragettes jailed for Kew Gardens blaze Two women were sent to jail for an arson attack which destroyed the tea pavilion at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, west London. Lilian Lenton and Olive Wharry, Suffragettes linked to the Women's Social and Political Union, had been arrested nearby on the night of the fire. Found guilty, they were sentenced to 18 months imprisonment at the Old Bailey in central London. Both were sent to Holloway prison in north London to serve out their sentences but immediately went on hunger strike, saying that they would not eat until they were released. Lenton was quickly freed after she became seriously ill following an attempt by the prison authorities to force-feed her. After a 32-day hunger strike, which she apparently managed to keep a secret from the guards, Wharry was also released. Source www.london-today.net/web/events/march/7/00003218/10251353...