First practising female barrister commemorated with London blue plaque

Legal Cheek reports..

Lady Hale unveiled the historical marker

The first woman to practise at the bar of England and Wales has been commemorated with an English Heritage London blue plaque.

Helena Normanton’s plaque marks the address she lived for the early part of her legal career at 22 Mecklenburgh Square in London’s Bloomsbury.

Yesterday’s unveiling comes almost 100 years after Normanton passed her final bar exams on 26 October 1921, and was attended by senior female figures from across the legal profession.

Lady Hale, the first woman to serve as president of the UK’s Supreme Court, unveiled the plaque, saying: “Helena Normanton was the pioneer of women barristers. She had to overcome a great deal of prejudice and discrimination. A blue plaque is a fitting tribute to her courage and her example to women barristers everywhere.”

It follows a lengthy campaign by a group of women barristers at Doughty Street Chambers and the First 100 Years project to have Normanton’s profile recognised by the historical marker.

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First practising female barrister commemorated with London blue plaque