Eglantyne Louisa Jebb

Eglantyne Louisa Jebb (Template:Nee Jebb; 1845/1846 - November 1925) was an Anglo-Irish social reformer. A keen supporter of the Arts and Crafts movement, in 1884 she founded the Home Arts and Industries Association as a way of reviving country crafts and overcoming rural poverty.

Biography

Eglantyne Louisa Jebb was born in 1845 or 1846 in Dublin to Emily Harriet (née Horsley) and Robert Jebb.Template:Sfn She had an elder brother, would become the classicist Sir Richard Claverhouse JebbTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn and younger twin siblings,Template:Sfn Heneage Horsley Jebb and Robert Jebb.Template:Sfn

Her father was a Queen's Counsel of the Irish Bar and studied literature.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn His family included Sir Joshua Jebb, a prison reformer; Oxford Movement pioneer, John Jebb, Bishop of Limerick; and court physician, Sir Richard Jebb.Template:Sfn Her mother was the daughter of the Dean of Brechin, Rev. Heneage Horsley.Template:Sfn

In 1850, the family moved to Killiney, due to the delicate health of the twins. From an early age, she was called Tye and studied art and poetry.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In 1871, she married her cousin Arthur Trevor Jebb (1839–1894), a barrister and landowner from Ellesmere, Shropshire.Template:Sfn

The couple's first child, Emily was born in 1872 and the following year, Jebb gave birth to another daughter, Louisa, or "Lill". Their son, Richard, known as Dick, was born in 1874; followed by Eglantyne in 1876; Arthur in 1879; and Dorothy in 1881.Template:Sfn

In 1884, Jebb founded the Cottage Arts Association to create a network for craft education throughout England and assist in philanthropic efforts to overcome poverty in rural areas.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn She renamed the organization in 1885, as the Home Arts and Industries Association.Template:Sfn

The organization sponsored courses in craftwork, specifically woodworks and wearable items. The idea behind the programs was to provide education and training on art production to help people make a living, but also to build appreciation for the beauty of handicrafts.Template:Sfn

Jebb was able to secure patrons such as Earl Brownlow and his wife, Countess Adelaide; Katherine Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster; and Louisa Beresford, Marchioness of Waterford as patrons. They helped provide not only funding for the schools, but exhibition spaces for the goods to be shown to society figures.Template:Sfn She ran the organization until 1887, when health concerns forced her to withdraw from active participation, though she did continue to organize free classes.Template:Sfn

After her husband's death in 1894,Template:Sfn Jebb resided with her unmarried daughter and namesake, Eglantyne, in Cambridge.Template:Sfn A further health issue caused them to move to the Swiss Riviera in 1910, travelling between health spas in Austria, Italy and Switzerland.Template:Sfn

During the war, Eglantyne agreed to collect, distribute, and monitor funds for the Macedonia Relief Fund. Jebb contributed £50 to the relief efforts, and supported her daughter's 1913 trip to the Balkan states.Template:Sfn

Death and legacy

Jebb died on 6 November 1925 in Sussex, England.Template:Sfn Two of her daughters, Eglantyne and Dorothy, founded the Save the Children Fund, and Eglantyne Jebb also wrote the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.Template:Sfn

References

Bibliography

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