The latest Blue Plaque in Salisbury was unveiled on Thursday 13th April on New Street. The Mayor Tom Corbin and Jane Howells jointly pulled the scarf and revealed the plaque to celebrate Frances Hale. The plaque and ceremony were organised by the Salisbury Civic Society in partnership with Salisbury Soroptimists whose project 'Her Salisbury Story' inspired the plaque. Her Salisbury Story is a website collecting the stories of over 60 women, past and present, who have contributed or are contributing to life in Salisbury. The research was done by many Soroptimists and other members of the community. Some of these women are currently featured in an exhibition at Salisbury Museum. Jenny Hair, President of Salisbury Soroptimists said that the idea of the project was to write women into history, as their contributions are often overlooked.
Frances Hale inherited the building business from her husband who had taken it over on the death of her father. She later took her sons into partnership, but it was clear that she ran the show. Her astute management increased the workforce from a couple of dozen to over 400. The business was celebrated at a civic dinner, for which she paid, but to which she was not invited (men only!) reported in the Salisbury Journal in July 1871. As an aid to recruitment, Mrs Hale used to make sure that newspapers reported the summer outings which she organised for her workforce. The firm also had a cricket team, Mrs Hale’s Carpenters XI.
Her firm built the Literary and Scientific Institution, now the Cosy Club, on the walls of which the plaque is installed. Other notable buildings are Richardson's wine store, now Barclays, on the corner of High Street and Fisherton Street, the Congregational Church and the renovation of Britford Church. The family lived at 36 Castle Street. Unfortunately the business suffered severe cash flow problems after undertaking a project in Alderbury and was declared bankrupt. Frances died the following year. Her son later re-established the business and was able to buy back the Castle Street house and yard.
The ceremony in New Street was followed by a visit to the exhibition in Salisbury Museum and tea at Arundell's. The chair of the Civic Society, Stephanie Siddons Deighton, introduced a talk by Jane Howells about women in the history of Salisbury, followed by Brian Evans talking about his research into the life of Frances Hale. Both talks were informative and enjoyed by the invited audience.