Image description -the bronze statue of Lady Rhondda. She is depicted standing with a confident posture looking off into the distance, with a wreath of women’s hands behind her, starting behind her head and ending below her midriff. She is wearing a dress with an outer jacket, a sash over her left shoulder, a beaded necklace, and a brooch. Her hair is styled back away from her face ending at the nape of her neck.
After a dedicated campaign by the team at Monumental Welsh Women, Lady Rhondda’s statue has been unveiled.
Born Margaret Haig Thomas, Viscountess Rhondda was the 4th Monumental Woman in a series of 5 commissioned. We are delighted to have contributed £500 toward the newly unveiled statue of Lady Rhondda, with Sharon -one of our own monumental Welsh women -proudly in attendance on 26th September.
The stunning statue was designed and created by renowned sculptor Jane Robbins, and provides a visual narrative of the incredible Welsh woman. For example, the wreath features hands cast from over 30 women, including Dame Rosemary Butler and Jess Morden MP. Lady Rhondda’s incredible I ikeness is now situated at the riverside of the Millennium footbridge, near Millennium Walk.
Among many notable facts about Lady Rhondda were her role as an activist, a dedicated Suffragette, a survivor of the sinking of the Lusitania, and a highly distinguished businesswoman -whose resilience and impact will long outlast her death.
Determined to have women able to sit in the House of Lords, Lady Rhondda lived to see the passage of the Life Peerages Act permitting women entry in the Upper House, but sadly died on 20 July 1958, before the first women took their seats as life peers in the Lords in October.
Lady Rhondda is truly an inspiration -a symbol of defiance in the face of oppression, of courage and determination. Let us remember her achievements, consider the challenges she faced, and admire her well-deserved statue which so many local women contributed to.
