FEARLESS Swindon-born suffragette Edith New will be remembered in Old Town with the unveiling of a blue plaque outside the house in which she was born.

The former Swindon teacher is best-known for chaining herself to the railings of 10 Downing Street in January 1908 together with Olivia Smith, as a diversion so fellow suffragettes Flora Drummond and Mary Macarthur could sneak in.

However, the four women were arrested before they could get inside.

The unveiling of the plaque is being organised and paid for by Swindon Heritage and will be placed at 24 North Street on Saturday at 3pm.

It will follow a free event that will celebrate Edith’s life at St Saviour’s Church Hall from 12.30pm to mark the anniversary of her birth on March 17, 1877.

Noel Beauchamp, of Swindon Heritage, said: “The idea of having blue plaques in Swindon has been talked about for many years, but has never happened before, so we are taking the initiative.

“We also organised a series of events to honour Edith New last autumn and the success of those events convinced us we should come up with a lasting memorial to her.

"And what better time to do it than this year, when we are all celebrating the town’s achievements during Swindon 175.

“Our thanks to the Bainbridge family, who have kindly allowed us to put the plaque on the front of their home.”

Edith, who in part influenced a character played by Helena Bonham Carter is last year's hit film Suffragette, joined the Votes For Women movement in the early 1900s.

She was also the first suffragette to go on hunger strike in Scotland and she worked as a full-time campaigner for the cause, before returning to teaching and then retiring to Polperro, Cornwall, where she died aged 73 in 1951. It is also where she is buried.

Graham Carter, the editor of Swindon Heritage, said: “Swindon Heritage is run by volunteers and we have limited resources, but we decided to pay for Edith’s plaque and have it fitted, in the hope it will be the first of many.

“We are looking at various ways these could be funded in the future.

"In other towns they are often paid for by sponsors, including businesses, but we also want to see whether we can do it by crowdfunding or subscriptions.”