Laura McLaren, Baroness Aberconway

Dame Laura McLaren Baroness Aberconway
Born	Laura Elizabeth Pochin (1854-05-14)14 May 1854 Broughton, Lancashire, England
Died	4 January 1933(1933-01-04) (aged 78) Antibes, France
Nationality	British
Occupation	activist, author, horticulturist
Notable work	The Women's Charter of Rights and Liberties
Spouse(s)	Charles McLaren (m. 1877)

Laura McLaren, Baroness Aberconway CBE, DStJ (born 14 May 1854, Broughton, Lancashire – died 4 January 1933, Antibes, France) was a British suffragist, author and horticulturalist.

Life

She was born in Salford, Lancashire in 1854. She was the daughter of Henry Davis Pochin, a noted industrialist and chemist wife, Agnes (née Heap) (1825–1908), herself a women's rights activist.^[1]

She married, on 6 March 1877, Charles McLaren, a business associate of her father's, in Westminster. He would later be created Baron Aberconway, and they would have four children.^[2]

Baroness Aberconway was a campaigner for women's suffrage, founding the Liberal Women's Suffrage Union and publishing some writings on the subject. During World War I, she converted her house in London into a hospital and helped run it.

She died in 1933 at her home, Château de la Garoupe, on the Cap d’Antibes.

Awards and honors

In 1918, Aberconway was appointed as a CBE. She was also appointed as a Dame of Grace of the Venerable Order of Saint John.

Other

Outside politics Aberconway was a talented artist and horticulturalist. She and her husband worked to expand and improve the Bodnant Garden begun by her father. Château de la Garoupe is hailed for his beautiful garden.^[3]

Writings

• The Women's Charter of Rights and Liberties. London, John Sewell, 1909.
• The Prime Minister and Women's Suffrage London, John Sewell, 1913.

References