The Grille Incident

The most famous protest in the Ladies' Gallery took place on 28th October 1908, when suffragettes from the Women's Freedom League carried out a number of protests in and around Parliament. Muriel Matters and Helen Fox chained themselves to the grille in the Ladies' Gallery, shouting, 'We have been behind this insulting grille too long!' while Violet Tillard thrust a banner through the grille and lowered it down into the chamber. The authorities were unable to get the suffragettes off the grille, which had to be removed from the window. They were taken to a Committee Room still attached to the grille, where the chains were filed through.

Find out more about the Grille Incident: And everywhere she is in Chains!