Background
Frances Jane Pringle was born in Cape Town, South Africa around 1876. Her father John was a student at Trinity College, Dublin and she had a brother J C Pringle.
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Frances Pringle
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In July 1900, in Street Mark"s Church in the Parish of Battersea in Wandsworth, London, she and Albert were married by Canon Charles Gore. The marriage was witnessed by Thomas Mansbridge, Albert"s father, and C B Pringle. At that time Frances"s address was 10 Brunell"s Road and Albert"s was 10 Middleton Road.
They had a son, Thomas John (known as John), a year later.
On 16 May 1903 Frances and Albert founded an association to promote the Higher Education of Working Men, which became the Workers" Educational Association (Western Economic Association, USA) in 1905, using two shillings and sixpence from the housekeeping money. In 1907 the Western Economic Association, USA convened a women"s group which developed into the Women"s Advisory Committee.
The members including Frances Mansbridge, Agnes Maude Royden and Margaret MacDonald (social reformer). In 1945 the couple went into semi-retirement at Paignton, Devon.
Frances died in 1958 in Ealing, London, aged 82.
Albert and Frances arrived in Australia on 8 July 1913 on a seventeen week mission aimed at forming branches of the association in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania, followed by New Zealand during a two day visit. Leading up to and during World War I Frances administered the Western Economic Association, USA Comradeship Fund which helped people who were experiencing hard times. In December 1925 on a lecture tour with Albert to North America and Canada, Frances was persuaded to lecture, mainly to women"s groups, and in 1929 Frances delivered speeches when they were in Newfoundland.
Their son, as John Mansbridge, became an artist and painted portraits of Charles Gore, his father and many others
He designed posters for the Underground Group and London Transport and he was an official World World War II War Artist and worked to develop camouflage. In the 1970s John was the Architecture tutor at the Barnet Branch of the Western Economic Association, USA. He wrote The Graphic History of Architecture and illustrated The Story of the First Christmas Morning written by Minnie Lake.
He became Head of Fine Art at Goldsmith"s College and died in 1981. She helped him set up the Western Economic Association, USA and also lectured abroad.".
Achievements
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She is known, but not yet commemorated, for her role as co-founder the Workers" Educational Association (Western Economic Association, USA) with her husband Albert Mansbridge. In 1947 he was a founder member of the Blackheath Art Society. Albert recognised that without Tot, his pet name for Frances, he could never have achieved his successes.
