The Story of Emily

Pacifist and humanitarian Emily Hobhouse

Gandhi described her as "one of the noblest and bravest of women" but in Britain few people have heard of Emily Hobhouse. I did a paper on imperialism for my history finals at university and beyond her name and the fact she campaigned against the concentration camps set up by the British during the Second Anglo-Boer War, I knew nothing. Yet she was a remarkable woman, a pacifist and humanitarian who dared to stand up to the might of the British Empire.

Earlier this month we were invited to The Story of Emily, an immersive historical experience centred on her childhood home near Liskeard. The Story of Emily is in two parts - the meticulously-renovated Victorian rectory where she grew up and The War Rooms, a RIBA award winning immersive experience which transports visitors to South Africa during late 19th and early 20th century.

Emily Hobhouse was born in 1860, the fifth of the six children of a well-to-do Anglican rector, Rev Reginald Hobhouse and his wife Caroline. Emily remained at the rectory until the death of her father in 1895, after which she moved to London and became increasingly interested in humanitarian causes. She spent some time in America, tending to the welfare of Cornish miners who had emigrated to Minnesota but after a broken engagement, returned to London.

Following the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War, Emily became involved with the South African Conciliation Committee and 1900 established her own fund, the South African Women and Children Distress Fund. In December that year she travelled to South Africa to distribute relief to the thousands of women and children incarcerated in concentration camps following the British Army's introduction of a brutal scorched earth policy against the Boers. Denied a female companion, she travelled alone, enduring harsh conditions and hostility from the military.

Conditions in the concentration camps were appalling. During the course of the war an estimated 48,000 people, most of them children, died of disease and malnutrition. When Emily returned to England she published a 40-page report on all that she had witnessed and put forward recommendations for improving conditions in the camps. She was dismissed as unpatriotic and hysterical. Kitchener called her ‘that bloody woman’. A committee of enquiry later confirmed her findings but Emily was excluded and when she tried to return to South Africa in 1901, she was arrested and deported.

She did return after the war ended, raising money to help the Boers plough and replant the land and teach women to spin, weave and make lace. She later concentrated her efforts on the fight for women’s suffrage and worked tirelessly as a pacifist during the First World War.

In South Africa Emily Hobhouse was revered. In 1913, she was invited to give the keynote speech at the unveiling of a monument honouring the Boer women and children who died during the war. Following her own death in 1926 she was honoured with a state funeral and her ashes interred at the base of the moment.

In Britain, she has faded her from the pages of history, her achievements overlooked because she dared to shine a spotlight on one of the most shameful episodes in Britain’s imperial endeavour. Even when she was vilified by politicians and the press, she stood her ground, a lone woman speaking out against the might of the British Empire.

The Story of Emily is a fitting testament to this exceptional woman. As someone who's used to my history on the dry side, I'm naturally suspicious of anything billed as interactive or immersive but The War Rooms is a powerful and moving experience. The Rectory, built by Emily's parents, offers an insight into daily life during the Victorian era and the influences that shaped Emily's life. The Story of Emily also has a wonderful restaurant serving South African dishes made using Cornish ingredients and inspired by 19th century heritage recipes.

You can find out more about The Story of Emily here.