A Liverpool Exemplar - Florence E Melly

Florence Elizabeth Melly was born in Liverpool in 1856, the niece of Charles Pierre Melly and the daughter of George and Sarah (nee' Bright), George being a merchant shipowner. For most of her life, certainly from 1861 to 1901, Florence lived with her two sisters, four brothers and seven servants, at 90 Chatham St, at its corner with Oxford Street and in the census is described as 'living on her own means'. She would give her life to education in the city, and is listed in 1903 as a member of the Technical Instruction Committee and some of her correspondence, for example with the wife of Philip Holt, who was on the same committee, remains. The family's being connected as Sarah Bright's sister Elizabeth married George Holt, brother of Alfred and Philip Holt, founders of Blue Funnel and also in 1887, George's son Hugh married Cecily Holt, daughter of William Holt. A network of women managers from families interested in education developed across board schools and Charles and Sarah's daughter Florence was one of a group of Liverpool women, from merchant and shipping families like the Rathbone's, Royden's and Holt's, who had a significant impact on improving education in the town and elsewhere. 

Florence was appointed to the Liverpool School Board, which had been set up in 1870, following the unexpected death of Miss Ann Jane Davies from pneumonia in 1898. There was some dissent about her choice, as the Welsh community felt that they 'owned' this seat, hence her being accepted by 7 votes to 0 with 6 abstentions. However, whilst not Welsh, she was 'non-sectarian,' representing a strand of non-conformity within the city. In her role she was an example of the kind of total self-sacrifice which typified women's attitudes towards their role on the board. It was said that when she was on the Liverpool Schools Board nobody worked harder or longer hours than her. She bicycled to every elementary school in all weathers even though she was a diabetic struggling always to keep her condition stable. Both Miss Melly and Miss Davies were undoubtedly dedicated members of the School Board, and for both of them it provided a public platform from which they could exercise some of the skills developed in their broader and much varied voluntary philanthropic work. However they were unique in being able to do this within Liverpool as, from its inception until its demise in 1903, they represented the sole female presence on the Liverpool School Board. No other women were elected. Furthermore, although acknowledging the value of their work, other commentators have highlighted the reticence of the two women. Margaret Simey, whilst praising Florence's contribution to various charitable works in the city, maintains that, as a School Board member, she represented the next stage following the city's generation of 'noble matrons'. Although she belonged to the future rather than the past in that she was conscious of a call to public service, because of her sex and not in spite of it, she still 'adopted the habitual modesty of her predecessors'.

Both Miss Davies and Miss Melly were elected onto the Board as 'non-sectarian' candidates. However, this does not mean that they were not religious candidates. In the context of the Liverpool School Board, 'non-sectarian' merely implies neither Anglican nor Catholic affiliation. A closer examination of their work on the Board indicates that on several occasions they followed their own itinerary, which, whilst it was not party political, did not always mirror the web of feminist concerns as some others did.
She also represented the interests of one of the large Liverpool families, and although Liberal in politics, she left this aside from her work for the Board. Like Miss Davies, Miss Melly was no radical. Indeed, one of her earliest acts on the Board was to vote against a motion that the School Board should accept and apply the Liverpool Trades Council's notion of a fair wage clause in its dealings. Certainly her approach was child-centred, and she was most active around an inquiry into Child Labour in Liverpool set up by the City Council in 1901, attending and participating in committee meetings despite not being a committee member. However, her views there display a strong consciousness of her own social position. She believed that 'street trading by girls ought to be prohibited altogether' as it "led to depravity in many cases," but "did not see any harm in girls working after school hours in domestic service and similar employments." It was the type of work which she deplored, and not the effect of working long hours on girls' concentration at schoo1.

The original Florence Melly School

 

Florence Melley founded the Florence Melly Community Primary School in the North of Liverpool which opened in 1927 after dedicating her life to serving education in Liverpool. She visited the school shortly after it opened but sadly died soon after in 1928. 

see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2021/02/a-liverpool-exemplar-charles-pierre.html