Elizabeth Fry
1780-1845
English Reformer
Elizabeth Fry was one of the most important prison reformers of the nineteenth century. She also helped to reform the British hospital system and the treatment of the mentally ill.
Fry was born Elizabeth Gurney, the daughter of a wealthy banker and merchant. The Gurneys were members of the Society of Friends, a religious group also known as Quakers. Upholding the belief that all humans are equal in the sight of God, the Quakers were the first religious group to denounce slavery. They were also concerned about the welfare of prisoners. Early Quakers had been imprisoned for their beliefs and experienced the horrible conditions of incarceration firsthand. They also believed that there is something of God in everyone, even in criminals, therefore the goal of prison should be reformation, not simply punishment. Fry's religious background had much to do with her enthusiasm for reform.
In 1798 Fry met with an American Quaker named William Savery, who inspired her to devote her energies to helping those in need. She began by setting up a Sunday school in her home, where she taught local children to read. Also in 1798, Elizabeth met her husband, Joseph Fry, who was from another wealthy Quaker family. They married in 1800 and their first child was born the next year. Between 1801 and 1812, Elizabeth had eight children.
In 1813 Stephen Grellet, a friend of the Fry family, visited Newgate, London's chief prison, where prisoners were held before execution or transportation. Grellet was shocked by conditions in the women's section, where he found prisoners sleeping on bare stone floors and newborn babies without clothing. He informed Fry, and she visited the prison the next day, taking warm clothing for the babies and clean straw for sick prisoners to lie on.
Fry's visit to Newgate was the beginning of her life's work, but for family reasons, including the birth of two more children, she did not visit Newgate again until 1816. During this visit, she suggested that the prisoners set up a school for the children. Although the women were eager to follow this suggestion, Fry could not obtain backing for the school until she established the Association for the Improvement of the Female Prisoners in Newgate, a committee of twelve women. As well as founding the school, the association appointed a woman matron to supervise thewoman prisoners (formerly guarded by men) and provided materials and instruction for the women to sew quilts and other items they could sell to buy food, clothing, and fresh straw for bedding. Members of the association also took turns visiting the prison every day to read from the Bible.
Fry's brother-in-law, Thomas Fowell Buxton, joined the association in 1817, and published a book based on his investigations at Newgate. When he was elected to Parliament in 1818, he promoted Fry's work. She gave evidence to a parliamentary committee investigating London prisons, becoming the first woman asked to do so. Although impressed with her work, Parliament did not respond to Fry's concerns until 1823, when legislation was introduced to provide for regular visits from prison chaplains, women warders for women prisoners, and payment for jailers (who had depended on fees from prisoners).
Beginning in 1818, Elizabeth and the association also visited convict ships. Those convicted of minor crimes were often transported, or shipped to British colonies, especially Australia. The prisoners were held aboard ships in the Thames River for six weeks before sailing. During that time, members of the association visited the ship every day, set up a school, and supplied each prisoner with materials for making patchwork quilts during the voyage. Over the next 20 years, Fry visited and organized 106 convict ships, every ship that carried women prisoners.
Fry's reforms were not limited to prisons. She set up the Brighton District Visiting Society to provide help and comfort for the poor, and soon similar societies were established throughout Britain and in Europe. She campaigned for improvements in the treatment of mental patients. Fry also founded a training school for nurses, and her views on their training influenced Florence Nightingale.
Fry was unusually influential for a woman of her day. Even the Queen of England met with her and donated to her projects. And, unlike those of many other reformers, her suggestions were acted upon throughout most of Europe during her lifetime.
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