Visitors to Hereford may spot several new plaques at various locations across the city. The temporary violet plaques have been installed by Hereford Cathedral to commemorate key moments within the suffragette movement.

The Violet Plaques Project has seen 11 temporary plaques installed in historically relevant locations. The idea for the violet plaques arose during the research phase of the Eastern Cloisters Project, a Heritage Lottery Funded project based within the cloisters of Hereford Cathedral. Many interesting stories were discovered in the archives of the cathedral, including the story of the Davises who lived in No 7 The Cloisters.

Sarah Hollingdale, Eastern Cloisters Project Activity Officer, said: “Reverend George Herbert Davis was an Assistant Vicar Choral at the cathedral prior to the First World War. He travelled the country to speak on women’s suffrage and his wife, Ethel May Davis, was Secretary of the Hereford Branch of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU).

“When we discovered that the Davises were so involved with the suffragette movement, it seemed only right to commemorate it. The idea of the Violet Plaque project was born and as we researched the suffragette movement in Hereford we uncovered more locations which we felt should be observed.”

The timing of the project also coincides with the upcoming Three Choirs Festival in Hereford which will see Dame Ethel Smyth’s Mass in D performed as part of the opening night programme on Saturday, July 28th. Smyth was a high-profile member of the suffragette movement and the original score of Mass in D is currently on display as part of the Sounds Divine Exhibition in the Mappa Mundi & Chained Library Exhibition at Hereford Cathedral.

The plaques will be in place until August 6th, and to find out more information about the stories behind the plaques you can visit the Cathedral website – www.herefordcathedral.org