| Sophia Lonsdale | |
| Birth Date: | March 7, 1854 |
| Birth Place: | Regent |
| Death Date: | October 20, 1936 |
| Death Place: | Weybridge |
| Known For: | vocal anti-suffragist |
| Nationality: | British |
Sophia Lonsdale (1852-1936) was a British philanthropist and social activist.
Lonsdale was the daughter of John Gylby, canon of Lichfield and Sarah Martineau, née Jardine. Her elder sister, Margaret Lonsdale, would be a nurse and writer. She was also the granddaughter of Anglican bishop John Lonsdale. A vocal anti-suffragist, Lonsdale's name appeared on the list of signatories to "A Woman's Protest Against Female Suffrage" published in The Nineteenth Century in 1889.[1] Lonsdale was an early organizing member of the Women's National Anti-Suffrage League and part of the group's executive committee together with Mary Ward.[2] Her letter published in The Times in 1907 encouraged readers to sign a petition against the woman's vote, which was presented to Parliament after collecting 37,000 signatures.[3]
In 1892, Lonsdale opened a girls' high school in Lichfield which would eventually become The Friary School.[4] Much of her work focused on poor relief, as a member of the Charity Organization Society and board of guardians member of the Lichfield union.[5] Lonsdale published The English Poor Laws: Their History, Principles, and Administration in 1902.[6] She wrote the Introduction to The Slippery Slope, and Other Papers on Social Subjects by William Amias Bailward, published in 1920.[7]
Her memoirs, The Recollections of Sophia Lonsdale, were edited by her cousin Violet Martineau (1865-1948) and published in 1936.