Emmeline Pankhurst Statue

The Emmeline Pankhurst Statue was unveiled in St Peter’s Square on Friday 14 December 2018; exactly 100 years since some women got the right to vote.

It was the climax to a year of centenary celebrations, and was the result of the WoManchester Statue Project which was set-up in response to the fact that only two statues in the city centre were women. (Queen Victoria in Piccadilly Gardens and Enriqueta Rylands in John Rylands Library).

Pankhurst was born in Moss Side, Manchester in 1858 and was the founder of the Women’s Social and Political Union, the foremost suffrage movement. She campaigned tirelessly for women’s right to vote, getting arrested several times and enduring hunger strikes in prison.

Famed for her motto “deeds not words,” she was chosen by the public from a list of 20 inspiring Mancunian women. The public also voted for the winning design, Hazel Reeves’ Rise Up, Women known affectionately as ‘Our Emmeline’.

It show Pankhurst standing on a chair as she delivers a rousing speech. The statue faces towards the former Free Trade Hall where the first disruptive meetings of the suffragettes were held.