The Rope family were Anglican but, soon after her husband's early death in 1899, their mother converted to Roman Catholicism (along with 5 of her 6 children). She brought her children up in some degree of poverty, exacerbated by her father's will, which denied money to any descendant "in religion". Of the children, two became nuns (Margaret and Monica) and one a priest (Fr. Harry Rope). Two other siblings were Irene Vaughan, a botanist, and Squadron Leader Michael Rope, an aeronautical engineer, who died in the R101 airship disaster on 5th October 193. Only one, Denys, a doctor of medicine, continued as an Anglican, following his father.
Henry Edward George Rope (Father Harry Rope) (23 October 1880 – 1 March 1978) was a writer, poet, editor and priest widely known in the Roman Catholic Church in his long lifetime. He was the eldest brother of Margaret Agnes Rope, stained-glass artist, nephew of Ellen Mary Rope, sculptor, and George Thomas Rope, painter and naturalist as well as cousin of M. E. Aldrich Rope, another stained-glass artist. Due to his writings and his work as archivist at the Venerable English College, Rome, he was well known in his lifetime, particularly within Church circles but as a radical traditionalist he has been forgotten in modern times
Margaret was educated at home until in 1900 she went to the Birmingham Municipal School of Art. Her studies included enamelling and lettering. From 1901, she studied stained glass under Henry Payne. Margaret had an illustrious career at the school including a number of scholarships and won many awards in the National Competition for Schools of Art. In 1909, she left the school and worked from home (The Priory, Shrewsbury) especially on the large west window of Shrewsbury Cathedral, the first of seven she did there
Although there is no indication that Margaret served in any capacity during the First World War, several of her siblings were directly involved in the war effort - as an ambulance driver, a naval air service member and a nurse ministering to wounded soldiers. Margaret was running a successful stained-glass studio in London at the time.
Margaret and her sister were apparently arrested in Suffolk on suspicion of being German spies during the war, because they were riding motorbikes, which was unusual for women at the time.
(Two women who also rode motor cycles were Elsie Knocker and Mairi Chisholm – there are two excellent books about them -
https://inspirationalwomenofww1.blogspot.com/2013/07/elsie-and-mairi-go-to-war.html
https://inspirationalwomenofww1.blogspot.com/search?q=Mairi+Chisholm
However, Margaret Rope did create a significant amount of war memorial work after the conflict, suggesting she felt deeply the loss of the young men who died.
Margaret died on 6th December 1953.
