Bell

GERTRUDE BELL (1868 - 1926)

In Washington Hall, a plaque records of Gertrude Bell:

Scholar, Archaeologist, Explorer, Poet, Mountaineer, Gardener, Distinguished servant of the State. Born here, 14 July 1868, died Baghdad, 12 July 1926

Gertrude Bell, one of the most remarkable women of modern times, was the daughter of Hugh Lowthian Bell, ironmaster and colliery owner. The Bell house is now the Red Barnes (sic) Hotel, 31 Kirkleatham Street in Coatham, which adjoins Redcar. Inside the foyer there are photographs of Gertrude and the family houses at Washington Hall and Rounton. Outside there is a plaque commemorating Gertrude, who lived here from the age of two. Her mother died a year later and it was her step-mother, Lady Frances (Olliffe) Bell who was to edit Gertrude's famous Letters (never out of print since 1927). Lady Bell was an author and playwright herself (eight plays produced on the London stage), and her researches among the women of Teesside led to her classic study At the Works (1907).

It was at Red Barns that Gertrude's first childish letters were written, devoting much space to the Persian cat Mopsa, no doubt named after Jean Ingelow's Mopsa the Fairy. Gertrude spelled certain words wrongly all her life - 'siezed' and 'excercised' among them! She was very happy in Redcar among her pets and flowers, riding her pony and outdoing her brother Maurice at climbing over the greenhouse. Later on, she took great pleasure in socialising in London and at Red Barns, her home until 1905.

Gertrude Bell achieved a first in Modern History at Oxford, an unprecedented feat for a woman. She then spent many years mountaineering and travelling in the desert lands of the Middle East, usually only with guide and camel-train (though not without expensive clothes and crockery). 'By Allah!' an Arab is supposed to have said. 'What must their men be like?' She also made her name as a writer with The Desert and the Sown (1907) and other works, including a fine translation of the Persian poet Hafiz.

During and after World war I, Gertrude Bell worked for the British government in the Middle east and helped to further Lawrence of Arabia's aims. She may thus be regarded as one of the founders of modern Iraq. Lawrence thought her 'a wonderful person'; she used to address him as 'beloved boy'. She is buried in Baghdad, where the great museum she founded is a fitting monument.

Gertrude Bell's life and accomplishments made her a celebrity wherever she went, and the fact that she excelled at many things supposed to be the prerogative of men, makes her a pioneer in opening the way for women of later generations. Like her father, however she was not in favour of the suffragette movement. In fact she was a founder-member of the Women's Anti-Suffrage League. This may be one reason why such a remarkable woman does not receive her full due today. She is, however, included in the Virago Book of Women Travellers (1994). Her papers are preserved at the University of Newcastle.

Myers Literary Guide:	The North-East
GERTRUDE BELL (1868 - 1926) In Washington Hall, a plaque records of Gertrude Bell: Scholar, Archaeologist, Explorer, Poet, Mountaineer, Gardener, Distinguished servant of the State. Born here, 14 July 1868, died Baghdad, 12 July 1926 Gertrude Bell, one of the most remarkable women of modern times, was the daughter of Hugh Lowthian Bell, ironmaster and colliery owner. The Bell house is now the Red Barnes (sic) Hotel, 31 Kirkleatham Street in Coatham, which adjoins Redcar. Inside the foyer there are photographs of Gertrude and the family houses at Washington Hall and Rounton. Outside there is a plaque commemorating Gertrude, who lived here from the age of two. Her mother died a year later and it was her step-mother, Lady Frances (Olliffe) Bell who was to edit Gertrude's famous Letters (never out of print since 1927). Lady Bell was an author and playwright herself (eight plays produced on the London stage), and her researches among the women of Teesside led to her classic study At the Works (1907). It was at Red Barns that Gertrude's first childish letters were written, devoting much space to the Persian cat Mopsa, no doubt named after Jean Ingelow's Mopsa the Fairy. Gertrude spelled certain words wrongly all her life - 'siezed' and 'excercised' among them! She was very happy in Redcar among her pets and flowers, riding her pony and outdoing her brother Maurice at climbing over the greenhouse. Later on, she took great pleasure in socialising in London and at Red Barns, her home until 1905. Gertrude Bell achieved a first in Modern History at Oxford, an unprecedented feat for a woman. She then spent many years mountaineering and travelling in the desert lands of the Middle East, usually only with guide and camel-train (though not without expensive clothes and crockery). 'By Allah!' an Arab is supposed to have said. 'What must their men be like?' She also made her name as a writer with The Desert and the Sown (1907) and other works, including a fine translation of the Persian poet Hafiz. During and after World war I, Gertrude Bell worked for the British government in the Middle east and helped to further Lawrence of Arabia's aims. She may thus be regarded as one of the founders of modern Iraq. Lawrence thought her 'a wonderful person'; she used to address him as 'beloved boy'. She is buried in Baghdad, where the great museum she founded is a fitting monument. Gertrude Bell's life and accomplishments made her a celebrity wherever she went, and the fact that she excelled at many things supposed to be the prerogative of men, makes her a pioneer in opening the way for women of later generations. Like her father, however she was not in favour of the suffragette movement. In fact she was a founder-member of the Women's Anti-Suffrage League. This may be one reason why such a remarkable woman does not receive her full due today. She is, however, included in the Virago Book of Women Travellers (1994). Her papers are preserved at the University of Newcastle.
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