A PLAQUE has been placed on the terraced house which was once the home of the dance teacher who, more than 100 years ago, led the campaign for women to get the vote. The plaque is dedicated to Maria Swanson, who is one of the great unknowns of the local suffrage movement. Maria Swanson, Darlington suffragist. Picture courtesy of the Darlington Centre for Local Studies For a provincial town, Darlington played a surprisingly lively role over many decades in the campaign, and Miss Swanson was one of the most prominent local leaders. However, perhaps because these campaigners were ordinary working class women, their activities are not recorded, and once the vote was won in 1918, they stepped back into the daily business of running their households.