Honesty Girls Club

Annual Reports of the Honesty Girls Club 1912-1940; certificate of membership belonging to Lily Scott, 1903; copper tray, photo frame and box made by Lily Scott, a member of the club; and a hand-embroidered cushion, also made by Lily Scott.

In 1902, seventeen year-old Winifred Rowntree established the Honest Girls Club in order to provide entertainment and education for girls of similar age to herself living in the Leeman Road area of York. Initially the club met in the local adult school and consisted of twenty-four girls. By 1913, the club had 116 members, and had recently moved into a purpose-built building.
The girls were split into juniors (aged eleven to fourteen) and seniors (aged fifteen or over, i.e. those who had left school). Girls could continue to attend the club until they were twenty-five, or until the married. Younger girls (aged nine to eleven) could attend ‘drilling classes,’ while some of the seniors ran a ‘play hour’ for children aged five to nine. After a girl had attended the club for three years, she was given a certificate of membership.
Seniors met on a Monday night. Their evenings consisted of needlework, followed by dancing. In the summers they met in the gardens of Clifton Lodge, and would walk round the gardens. Juniors met on a Thursday night, and would practice their plain sewing, before ‘games and dancing’. Both evenings ended with hymns and a bible reading. Classes were held either on other weeknights or before meetings. The classes covered a wide-range of topics, and girls chose which they would like to study in advance. For example, in 1913, girls had the option of studying: singing, copper work, Morris dancing, English literature, nature study, swimming, gardening, or further drill classes. They also held annual competitions, such as a wildflower competition in which prizes were offered to the girls who could collect the widest variety of species. The club had its own library, and after they moved into their own building girls were welcome to spend their evenings at the club even if they weren’t taking part in any classes.
As suggested by the name, the Honesty Girls Club aimed to encourage kindness and honesty amongst the members. As such, they tried to run events for the local community, including an annual Christmas party for children from the local workhouse. The club established a ‘Guild of Help’ which made baby clothes from recycled materials and gave them away to ‘very needy homes.’ They also created cradles out of banana crates which could be lent out to mothers as necessary. A ‘visiting committee’ who called on any girl who missed a meeting, to provide care and support for her.
Winifred Rowntree continued to oversee the club until her death in 1915, when her husband, A. D. Naish took over as president. They were assisted by a vice-president, secretary and vice-secretary, all of whom were former members. However, the club was largely run by a committee of twelve girls annually elected from the senior group. These girls were responsible for running evening meetings, deciding which classes would run and finding teachers for them, and organizing any outreach programs. In later years, this committee was supported by former members of the club.
The last annual report for the club was released in 1940. By this point numbers had dwindled and the club was mostly concerned with past members.

Records are open to the public, subject to the overriding provisions of relevant legislation, including data protection laws.

The archive was gifted to the Borthwick Institute in 2018 by a granddaughter of Lily Scott.

In 1902, seventeen year-old Winifred Rowntree established the Honest Girls Club in order to provide entertainment and education for girls of similar age to herself living in the Leeman Road area of York. Initially the club met in the local adult school and consisted of twenty-four girls. By 1913, the club had 116 members, and had recently moved into a purpose-built building.
The girls were split into juniors (aged eleven to fourteen) and seniors (aged fifteen or over, i.e. those who had left school). Girls could continue to attend the club until they were twenty-five, or until the married. Younger girls (aged nine to eleven) could attend ‘drilling classes,’ while some of the seniors ran a ‘play hour’ for children aged five to nine. After a girl had attended the club for three years, she was given a certificate of membership.
Seniors met on a Monday night. Their evenings consisted of needlework, followed by dancing. In the summers they met in the gardens of Clifton Lodge, and would walk round the gardens. Juniors met on a Thursday night, and would practice their plain sewing, before ‘games and dancing’. Both evenings ended with hymns and a bible reading. Classes were held either on other weeknights or before meetings. The classes covered a wide-range of topics, and girls chose which they would like to study in advance. For example, in 1913, girls had the option of studying: singing, copper work, Morris dancing, English literature, nature study, swimming, gardening, or further drill classes. They also held annual competitions, such as a wildflower competition in which prizes were offered to the girls who could collect the widest variety of species. The club had its own library, and after they moved into their own building girls were welcome to spend their evenings at the club even if they weren’t taking part in any classes.
As suggested by the name, the Honesty Girls Club aimed to encourage kindness and honesty amongst the members. As such, they tried to run events for the local community, including an annual Christmas party for children from the local workhouse. The club established a ‘Guild of Help’ which made baby clothes from recycled materials and gave them away to ‘very needy homes.’ They also created cradles out of banana crates which could be lent out to mothers as necessary. A ‘visiting committee’ who called on any girl who missed a meeting, to provide care and support for her.
Winifred Rowntree continued to oversee the club until her death in 1915, when her husband, A. D. Naish took over as president. They were assisted by a vice-president, secretary and vice-secretary, all of whom were former members. However, the club was largely run by a committee of twelve girls annually elected from the senior group. These girls were responsible for running evening meetings, deciding which classes would run and finding teachers for them, and organizing any outreach programs. In later years, this committee was supported by former members of the club.
The last annual report for the club was released in 1940. By this point numbers had dwindled and the club was mostly concerned with past members.

Created by R. Denton, 06.02.2018

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Rosie Denton, 'Honesty Girls Club: Educating the Girls of York', from the Borthwick Institute Blog, February 2018 (http://borthwickinstitute.blogspot.com/2018/02/honesty-girls-club-educating-girls-of.html)

Published

GB193