Ethel Mary Colman

Ethel Mary Colman was another of the Colman family who believed that women should participate in public life. In 1923 she made history by becoming Lord Mayor of Norwich, the first woman in the United Kingdom to hold the role of a city mayor. Although she initially declined the position, which had previously been held by her great uncle Jeremiah, father Jeremiah James, and brother Russell, she eventually accepted it. During her year in office, Ethel revived the Norfolk and Norwich Festival, which had been suspended since 1914.

Ethel made her own mark on the public life of the city, separate from her family's. She supported women's suffrage, subscribed to many charitable causes and, unlike her father, was a good public speaker. She was a director of the London Missionary Society and one of the first women to be a deacon of the Congregational Church. She was particularly interested in the heritage and historic fabric of Norwich, and she wrote and lectured about Carrow Abbey, the 12th-century nunnery that in 1886 was converted into the Colman family home. Ethel actively supported heritage projects such as the Norfolk Archaeological Trust, and contributed to the saving of many historic houses and monuments of the city, including the medieval city walls.

After the death of her sister and companion, Helen, Ethel Colman made a final donation to Norwich Castle Museum. The gift included a remarkable Netherlandish triptych depicting two sisters kneeling in prayer. Ethel died in November 1948, just 15 months after her sister.