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A black background with white brush lettering that reads ‘Rebel Women of Sunderland’.
A black background with white brush lettering that reads ‘Rebel Women of Sunderland’.

Elizabeth Donnison

A graphic print. A white background with a light pink stripe through the middle. At the centre is a black silhouette of a person’s profile. Text in cursive font reads ‘Her legacy lives on but no image exists, as with many other women in history’. To the left, white brush lettering reads ‘Elizabeth Donnison’. To the right is a black circle with white brush lettering that reads ‘Rebel Women in Sunderland’.

Elizabeth Donnison lived two different lives in Sunderland. In the first, she was married to a man called Charles Guy, and was known as Elizabeth Guy of Sunderland Near the Sea. They went for walks along the beach eating cockles from brown paper bags until Charles died unexpectedly, and Elizabeth was left with her heart split open.

After time had passed, she began a romance with James Donnison, a Sunderland butcher. He came home with sheep’s livers and pig’s hearts wrapped up in newspaper and pressed their warmth into the palm of her hand. James and Elizabeth decided to get married. A remarried widow stirred gossip, so the couple tried to conceal their identities at the altar. 45-year-old James claimed to be 31-, and 54-year-old Elizabeth said she was just 25.

‘It is evidently a lie,’ wrote a witness, ‘and I fear the coy widow is no better.’

James came into a great fortune and became the owner of the freehold estate in Farringdon. He and Elizabeth lived well for some years and were known for their generosity among the local people. Elizabeth wanted to help those less fortunate than her, and when she passed away she left a large sum of money in her will with instructions to set up a free school next to the workhouse.

The school took in 36 little girls with dirty feet and angel faces, and they were taught to read, write, sew and sing. At Elizabeth’s request, they were given two new sets of clothes and shoes a year. They learned how to keep houses and look after themselves. Elizabeth’s legacy took the girls out of poverty and gave them safer, brighter lives.