Tucked away on a quiet street in Oxton is a home that once housed a doctor who was at the forefront of the women’s suffrage movement.

The house which now looks after homeless children was once occupied by Dr Alice Ker, a British physician, health educator and suffragette.

Alice moved into the home on James Street in 1888 with her husband, Edward Stewart Ker, and went on to have two daughters, Margaret Louise and Mary Dunlop.

Kevin McMahon, who lives opposite the property and takes an interest in local history, shared the rich history behind the house on Facebook.

He said: “I think it’s quite incredible really. Can you imagine a woman who was a doctor during that time who then also took such a visible stand for women’s rights?

Alice worked at the Wirral Hospital for Sick Children and was the thirteenth woman on the registry of the British Medical Association.

In 1893 she became involved in the Birkenhead and Wirral Women’s Suffrage Society.

In March 1912, the Women’s Social and Political Union (WPSU) organised a window-breaking demonstration in London which Alice attended.

She was imprisoned at Holloway Prison for breaking windows at Harrods department store and like many other suffragettes, Alice was force fed after hunger striking.

She was released early from her two-month prison sentence with ill health.

Alice also wrote poetry while in prison, contributing to ‘Holloway Jingle’ a collection published by the Glasgow brand of the Women’s social and Political Union.

Kevin said: “There’s so many people who may walk past this house every day and have no idea about the history behind it.

“At one point she had as many as fifty women staying at the house at one time in order to boycott the census.

“What a strong and determined woman! This house should have a blue plaque.”