Louisa Nott-Bower
British archer, Olympian, and advocate for women's rights.
Louisa Adelaide Nott-Bower (27 March 1861 – 6 September 1925) was a British archer and women’s rights advocate. Born in Troedyraur, Ceredigion, Wales, she was the youngest of twelve children of James Charles Yorke and Georgiana Augusta Hawkins. Her father died when she was young, and her mother came from Somerset.
She married Sir Edmund Ernest Nott-Bower, a barrister, in 1886, and they had three children: George, Marianne, and Reginald. Both she and her husband were amateur archers with the Royal Richmond Archery Club. At age 47, she competed in the 1908 London Olympics in the only women’s archery event, the double National round, finishing 11th with 503 points. The gold, silver, and bronze medals went to her British teammates Queenie Newall, Lottie Dod, and Beatrice Hill-Lowe.
Nott-Bower was deeply involved in the women’s suffrage movement. In 1920, she attended the International Council of Women meeting in Switzerland and later headed the English branch of the International Woman’s Council. Late in life, she traveled to an international women’s meeting in Washington, D.C., and lectured on women’s rights across the United States. She was also quoted in newspapers for her opinions on fashion, cookery, and differences between Americans and the British.
In 1924, she spoke at a National Council of Women conference on moral welfare, addressing sexual offences against children and proposing new approaches for dealing with both offenders and victims. Her brother-in-law was William Nott-Bower, Chief Constable of the City of London Police, and her nephew, Sir John Nott-Bower, later became Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Louisa Nott-Bower died in London in 1925 at age 64.
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Louisa Yorke
- Nationality
- British
- Birth Date
- 27 March 1861
- Birth Place
- Troedyraur, Ceredigion, Wales, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Death Date
- 6 September 1925
- Death Place
- Richmond, London, England, United Kingdom
- Sport
- Archery
- Event
- 1908 Summer Olympics
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Louisa Adelaide Yorke was born in Troedyraur, Ceredigion, the youngest of twelve children of James Charles Yorke and Georgiana Augusta Hawkins. Her father died when she was a girl, and her mother was from Somerset. She married Sir Edmund Ernest Nott-Bower, a barrister, in 1886, and they had three children: George, Marianne, and Reginald. Her brother-in-law William Nott-Bower was Chief Constable of the City of London Police, and her nephew Sir John Nott-Bower later became Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
Nott-Bower and her husband were amateur archers affiliated with the Royal Richmond Archery Club. She competed at the 1908 Games in the only archery event open to women, the double National round competition. She was 47 years old that year and took eleventh place with 503 points. The women's archery medalists that year were her British teammates Queenie Newall (gold), Lottie Dod (silver), and Beatrice Hill-Lowe (bronze).
Beyond archery, Nott-Bower was active in the women's suffrage movement and afterward. She attended the International Council of Women meeting in Switzerland in 1920 and headed the English branch of the International Woman's Council. Late in life, she attended an international women's meeting in Washington, D.C., and lectured on women's rights in the United States. She was also in the newspapers for her quotable observations about fashion and cookery, and about Americans as compared to the British. In 1924, she spoke at a conference on moral welfare organised by the National Council of Women, addressing the problem of sexual offences against children and suggesting new lines of action.
Reader's Guide
Louisa Nott-Bower's significance lies in her dual legacy as an Olympic archer and a women's rights activist. Competing at the 1908 Summer Olympics at age 47, she participated in the only archery event open to women, finishing eleventh among her British teammates who swept the medals. Her involvement in the women's suffrage movement and subsequent international advocacy—attending the International Council of Women meeting in Switzerland in 1920, heading the English branch of the International Woman's Council, and lecturing in the United States—demonstrates her broader commitment to women's rights. Her 1924 talk on moral welfare, addressing sexual offences against children, further reflects her engagement with social issues. Her family connections to law enforcement, through her brother-in-law and nephew, add a notable dimension to her personal history. Nott-Bower's life illustrates the intersection of sport, activism, and public service in early 20th-century Britain.
Did You Know?
- She was 47 years old when she competed at the 1908 Olympics.
- She finished 11th in the women's double National round with 503 points.
- She spoke at a 1924 conference on moral welfare about sexual offences against children.
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