Emma Martin Blue Plaque

On 23rd Feb 2023 Bristol Humanists unveiled a Blue Plaque in memory of Emma Martin in Bridewell Street just off Bristol City Centre near where Emma Martin once lived.

The first annual Emma Martin lecture was held on 2nd Nov 2022 with

author and speaker Nan Sloane.

Her new book, Uncontrollable Women: Radicals, Reformers and Revolutionaries, is published by Bloomsbury (IB Tauris), and was chosen as one of the Guardian newspaper’s Books of the Day.

""Emma Martin was a devoted and outspoken proponent of atheism and Owenism, turning a rhetorical talent and Biblical knowledge gained from earlier Christian evangelism to the causes of socialism, women’s rights, and freedom of belief. Martin advanced these principles first as a lecturer, and later as a midwife, consistently demonstrating a devotion to humankind underpinned by a deeply felt feminism and an undeniably humanist philosophy.

Our Emma Martin Blue plaque was put in place on the side of the Old Fire Station in Bridewell Street Bristol on the 23rd of February which was the day she was baptised at St James just a short distance away. We are uncertain of her birth date and so this was the date chosen for the event. Emma lived near Bridewell Bridge which is now hidden beneath the road and just underneath where the plaque is installed in the centre of Bristol. 

Emma Moody and her two daughters, who are descendants of Emma Martin, attended the event with Professor Alice Roberts who is vice president of Humanists UK, and Bristol Mayor Paula O'Rourke who both kindly unveiled the plaque on behalf of Bristol Humanists. We would like to thank everyone involved who made this event happen.

We will be posting further details of Emma Martin's life and work and our Blue Plaque event which was a great success. Last year we had the first annual Bristol Humanists Emma Martin Lecture given by author and speaker Nan Sloane who has written several books on radical women in the public space.