Jebb, Eglantyne Louisa 1905 - 1925

Eglantyne Louisa Jebb (also referred to as Mrs A T Jebb, after her husband's initials) was an Irish social reformer. She was born in Dublin in 1845, into a successful family; her father was a Queen's Counsel of the Irish bar, and her older brother was the classicist Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb. Through her father's side she was related to Sir Joshua Jebb, prison reformer and Sir Richard Jebb, court physician. In 1871 she married her distant cousin, Arthur Trevor Jebb. As a supporter of the arts and crafts movement, she founded the Home Arts and Industries Association (initially called the Cottage Arts Association) in 1884. The aim of the association was to create a national network to revive traditional rural crafts which were threatened by increasing mechanisation, and, in doing so, both create appreciation for cultural traditions and alleviate rural poverty. The organisation created and funded courses in craftwork, especially woodwork and wearable items. By 1889, the association ran 450 classes, and had 1000 teachers and 5000 students. The Association had annual exhibitions between 1885 and 1913, which, from 1888, were held in the Royal Albert Hall. Jebb ran the organisation until health concerns forced her to step back in 1887. Two of her daughters, Dorothy and Eglantyne Jebb, founded Save the Children, and another daughter, Louisa Wilkins, helped to create the Women's Land Army during WWI.