Hannah Mary Clark was born in 1881, into a high-profile local Quaker family. Her father Joseph Firth Clark and two other male relatives all became Mayor of Doncaster.

The family lived in Briarcliffe on Thorne Road opposite the Town Field. It is now part of St Mary’s Nursing Home. In later life she lived at 5 Lawn Avenue with her brother Oswald.
Hannah became the first woman to be elected a Doncaster councillor in 1920 at the age of 39, and represented Wheatley Ward. She was made an Alderman in 1946 and was granted the Freedom of the Borough, the first woman to receive the honour. She was also an avid painter of watercolours and was a member of the Doncaster Art Club.

Throughout her political career she campaigned for better schools and housing and the rights of working women and mothers.

Hannah Clark 1881-1963 The Star website

One male councillor told her that “women’s place is in the home.” Hannah replied, “Therefore women ought to have a better say in the making of the homes in which they have their place.”

After 37 years of public service, she retired from public life. She died in 1963 at the age of 81

Choose Your Media to Continue on the Trail

Cross over the road and approach the railings and gates piers at the south end of the church, which dates from 1844.

From the gates, turn right and walk around the church following the road.

On the right you will reach a row of terraced houses.

This is the number 4 to 9 ChristChurch terrace, the houses and railings date back to 1827, they were completed before the church was finished.

When they were built, they overlooked the vast Nether Hall Estate, once owned by the Copley Family.

Walking past the terraced houses, you will reach the Hall Cross School, which was once a grammar school built in 1869.

Beyond the school is Bass Terrace, these three storied buildings were built between 1851 and 1854 by the architect William Bass Sivell. The bay windows on the ground floor are Edwardian additions with the shopfront to the eastern house probably later.

Cross Thorne Road at the Hall Cross School gates and arrive at the top of Christ Church Road.

As you approach Christ Church Road, you can see a row of terraced houses to your left.

These three-storey terrace houses opposite Christ Church were named Herschel Terrace as their construction coincided with the centenary of the discovery of the planet Urranus by Sir William Herschel. He had been a frequent visitor to Nether Hall in his younger days.

When you have arrived at the top of Christ Church Road, click on the NEXT button at the foot of the page, to view more information about this street.