Sarah Anne Lees née Buckley (1842-1935) was born at Carr Hill, Mossley. She married Charles Edward Lees at Stockport on the 30 Jul 1874. Charles Edward Lees JP (1840-1894) was a cotton manufacturer of Werneth Park, Oldham. Following her husband’s death, she committed herself to work for the benefit of the people of Oldham.
Dame Sarah Anne Lees.
She commenced her public career in 1902 when she was elected onto the Oldham Education Committee. Following the Qualification of Women Act of 1907, she became the first woman councillor to be elected in Lancashire, representing the Hollinwood Ward of Oldham as a Liberal. In 1909 she was made the first female Freeman of the Borough of Oldham, for services to the town, and she was the Mayor in 1910/11. She was selected as an Alderman in 1913. Aldermen were senior council members nominated by elected councillors, rather than by popular vote.
As a philanthropist, she supported many local causes including Oldham Hospital and the Nursing Association. She also authorised several recreational grounds for the town. Her Werneth Park residence and grounds were given to Oldham in 1936 by her daughter, Marjory Lees, to become a public park. Werneth Park residence (now Werneth Park Adult Education Centre) is listed Grade II, List Entry No. 1201654.
Werneth Park, the former residence of Dame Sarah Anne Lees.
In 1914 she received an honorary Law Doctor degree (LLD) from the University of Manchester. In 1916 she was made a Dame of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (DStJ). A Dame of Grace is a senior female member of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, a chivalric order recognised by Royal Charter. In 1917 she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her work during the Great War.
Dame Sarah Anne Lees is remembered as a pioneering figure in local government and the suffragist movement. This was a peaceful movement led by groups such as the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) under Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett GBE (1847-1929).
In recognition of her outstanding legacy a monument to her was erected in Werneth Park in 1937 and she is also commemorated by a blue plaque on her former home. Next to it is another blue plaque commemorating the work her daughter, Marjory Lees.