Arson sparked fury, including from the cricket-loving writer, but he soon switched from opponent to champion of equality
Shortly before 4am on the morning of 11 April 1913 the fire brigade was called to the Nevill Athletic Ground in Tunbridge Wells, where the cricket pavilion was ablaze. “The fire was discovered by the groundsman in charge of the ground, who lives near, and who had lately been instructed to be vigilant in watching the place,” reported the Kent & Sussex Courier. Firefighters could not save the building, which had been used to store a large quantity of tarred netting, basically an extensive collection of conjoined candle wicks. Nearby, they found a photograph of Emmeline Pankhurst and according to some accounts several copies of the suffragette newspaper Votes for Women. Within hours papers were reporting a “suffragist outrage”.
It was not an isolated incident. In the same year railway stations, golf clubhouses, boat and tennis clubs, newspaper offices, the homes of uncooperative MPs and even the tea house at Kew Gardens were targeted. Often publicity material for the suffragettes’ cause was left at the scene – when Croxley Green station was targeted on 10 March investigators initially had no evidence that suffragettes were to blame, until the following day, when the station master received one of their newspapers along with a short note: “Afraid copy left got burnt.”
Written by Simon Burnton
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/nov/10/how-suffragette-pavilion-fire-outraged-tunbridge-wells-and-conan-doyle-cricket under the title “The Spin | How suffragette pavilion fire outraged Tunbridge Wells … and Conan Doyle”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
