Mary Georgiana Townsend
Mayor of Oxford 1935/6, 1936, and 1958/9
Mrs Mary Georgiana Townsend (née Lambert) (1890–1986) was the daughter of Peter Fitzwalter Lambert of Castle Ellen, County Galway.
In 1911 Mary Lambert came to Oxford to marry John Sealey Edward Townsend (1868–1957), who also hailed from Galway and in 1901 had been appointed the first Wykeham Professor of Physics in Oxford. They lived on the Banbury Road, and Mrs Townsend was considered a "delightful hostess". They had two sons.
Mrs Townsend was elected to serve as Conservative city councillor for the North Ward in 1925, retaining her seat for 42 years until 1967. She was leader of the Council from 1945 to 1967, an alderman, and a city magistrate for twenty years.
When she was elected Mayor of Oxford for the year 1935/6, she was only the second woman to hold the office, and the first married woman. Her successor died in an accident just three months into his mayoral year, and she took over the job of Mayor again for nine months from 29 July 1936.
Mrs Mary Townsend’s husband was knighted in 1941, so she was henceforth known as Lady Townsend. Monty Woodhouse (MP for Oxford 1959–66 and 1970–4) nicknamed her "Lady Town-and-Gownsend".
Lady Townsend’s nephew, Quintin Hogg, was MP for Oxford until 1950.
The arms of Sir John Townsend (left) were added to the wall of the Lord Mayor’s Parlour when Lady Townsend served as Chief Magistrate.
When the another Mayor died in office 1958, all parties on the council voted unanimously that Lady Townsend should take over, so on 3 November 1958 (at the age of 68) she undertook another term as Mayor for five months.
The arms of her husband, Sir John Townsend, who died in 1957 can be seen on one of the wooden shields around the walls of the Lord Mayor’s Parlour. After his death Lady Townsend went to live at Belsyre Court on the Woodstock Road, and received the freedom of the city on 17 July 1967 (only the second woman to be thus honoured). She eventually retired to a home at Burcot and died in 1986 at the age of 96: her funeral was at Oxford Crematorium.
See also:
- Oxford Mail, 8 May 1967
- Oxford Mail, 12 May 1967
- Oxford Mail, 18 July 1967
- Oxford Times, 30 May 1986, p. 2