13 Randolph Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 7TT

Flora Clift Stevenson, noted philanthropist and social and government reformer, lived here at 13 Randolph Crescent. In 1868, Flora joined the Edinburgh Association for Improving the Conditions of the Poor shortly after it first began and oversaw the Sewing Room, which provided paid work for women in the winter months, Flora also volunteered as a health visitor for the Association, visiting the needy to assess their claims and distributing provisions tickets. In 1873, Flora was elected as a member to the first Edinburgh School Board and played a large part in a wide range of educational debates in the city, eventually being unanimously elected chair of the Board in 1900. Throughout all those years, she fought hard to improve the educational provision in public schools, and particularly for children from deprived backgrounds. In 1899, the board’s new school in Comely Bank was named as the Flora Stevenson School in her honour and the name remains today. Upon her death, in 1905, between two and three thousand public school children lined the route of her funeral.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo credits: Ema Smekalova, Lucy Ridley, Wikipedia