Barbour, Mary (housing and labour activist and councillor)
Dates
- Existence: 1875 - 1958
Biography
Mary Barbour (1875-1958), née Rough, was a housing and labour activist and councillor. Born in Renfrewshire in 1875, she received her formal education locally in Kilbarchan, but left in her early teens to begin work as a thread twister, before becoming a carpet printer. She married David Barbour in 1896 and the couple moved to Govan, Glasgow, where Barbour became involved in the Kinning Park co-operative guild. Also a member of the Independent Labour Party, and the Socialist Sunday School, Barbour became politically active during the 1915 Rent Strike where she was instrumental in organising local women in the fight against increased rental prices. She led the Govan Women's Housing Association, and alongside Helen Crawfurd-Anderson, Jean Ferguson, and other activists, such community groups succeeded in securing the Rent Restrictions Act 1915, which offered greater protection for tenants. Other notable achievements include the founding of the Women's Peace Crusade in 1916 with Crawfurd-Anderson and Agnes Dollan, and Barbour's election in 1920 as the first female Labour councillor in Glasgow. In this position she championed the rights of women and drove the establishment of the Glasgow Women's Welfare & Advisory Centre in 1926. She later served as a Glasgow Corporation bailie, the first woman to hold the title (1924-1927) and was also one of the city's first female magistrates. She retired in 1931 but remained active in community afffairs until her death in 1958. [Source: Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women, 2006]