Born in Edinburgh, Marie Stopes moved here just six weeks later. We’re standing before 28 Cintra Park. It’s in Upper Norwood. This is where the Marie Stopes Plaque is. It commemorates a remarkable woman. The plaque honors Marie Stopes. She was a promoter of sex education and birth control. The English Heritage erected it in 2010.
Marie Stopes lived here from 1880 to 1892. This handsome double-fronted house was her first London home. It was given the number 8 in 1890. It survives today as 28 Cintra Park. The house remains little altered. Here, Marie and her younger sister Winnie were home-schooled. Their mother educated them. Marie Stopes recalled a strict upbringing. It was a stern Scottish Presbyterian environment. Special books were kept for Sunday reading. No toys were allowed.
Marie Stopes was at the forefront of movements. These movements were for sex education and birth control. This was in the 1920s and 1930s. Her early books had a vast impact. They promoted safe contraception. They encouraged open discussion. They shaped modern assumptions. Sex was for the pleasure of both partners. One commentator called her the “eloquent Dr. Ruth of interwar England.” Her influence extended worldwide.
In 1921, Marie Stopes opened Britain’s first birth control clinic. It was at 61 Marlborough Road in Upper Holloway. In 1930, she co-founded the National Birth Control Council. It later became the Family Planning Association.
Born in 1880, Marie Stopes pursued her education with great passion. She took a first in botany at UCL in 1902. Two years later, she earned a PhD in botany at Munich. She was the first woman to achieve this. She became the first female member. It was of the science faculty at the University of Manchester. She lectured in palaeobotany from 1904 to 1907. Stopes gained prominence as an expert on fossil plants. She published “The Constitution of Coal” in 1918. The terms she devised for coal components are still used with modifications. She studied in Japan in 1907. She became a fellow of UCL in 1910. She lectured widely.
Her academic success contrasted with her personal life. After unsatisfying relationships and a failed marriage in 1911, she turned to promoting sex education and contraception. Using frank language, she wrote numerous books and pamphlets. “Married Love” and “Wise Parenthood” came out in 1918. “Radiant Motherhood” followed in 1920. “Married Love” was reprinted seven times in a year. By 1938, it had sold 820,000 copies worldwide.
Through the birth control movement, she met her second husband. He was Humphrey Vernon Roe. They married in 1918. They established Britain’s first birth control clinic three years later. A national network of clinics followed. They provided advice and support to young women. They sought guidance on birth control options. This did not include abortion. Abortion remained illegal until 1967.
Marie Stopes died in 1958. Her network of clinics went into receivership in 1975. The present-day organization is MSI Reproductive Choices. It started the following year.
Howard Spencer, an English Heritage Historian, commented on Marie Stopes. She did much to promote birth control and sex education. She advanced the liberation of women. Her messages were unpalatable to many. She remains a controversial figure. She reduced the misery of unplanned pregnancies. She blasted away Victorian taboos about sex. English Heritage commemorates her life’s work with this blue plaque. It honors her significant achievements. The Marie Stopes Plaque stands as a testament to her impact.