You may be surprised to learn that Pittville Park was once the stage for a remarkable moment in aviation history. In 1889, a young woman named Emily de Voy (also recorded as Emma Dovey) made what is recognised as the first parachute descent by a woman in Britain. Her historic jump took place here in Cheltenham, launched from a hot‑air balloon and witnessed by crowds who had never before seen a woman attempt such a daring feat.
Emily’s route into parachuting was far from ordinary. Born into poverty, she grew up in challenging circumstances before becoming involved in ballooning displays through her brother‑in‑law, the professional balloonist George Higgins, a well‑known aeronaut and parachute showman of the late Victorian era. Together, Emily and George performed parachute demonstrations across the country, but her first recorded jump on 4 May 1889 in Pittville Park is the one that secured her place in the history books as Britain’s pioneering female parachutist.
This extraordinary achievement makes Pittville Park an important site in the story of British aviation — yet until now, this chapter has remained largely unmarked. Friends of Pittville, working in partnership with The Cheltenham Civic Society, are now planning to put that right. Together, we will be commissioning a permanent plaque, to be installed in late summer 2026, commemorating Emily de Voy’s ground-breaking leap.
The new plaque will make a fascinating pairing with the existing green plaque in Montpellier Gardens, which marks the first successful parachute descent by a British man, John Hampton, achieved on the 2 October 1838. By bringing Emily’s story to light with a plaque in Pittville Park, we aim to celebrate not only her daring feat but also the contribution of women to early aviation. We look forward to sharing more details as the unveiling approaches.
The full story of Emily’s life and her parachute descent in Cheltenham, along with the stories of other British women pioneers in different areas of aviation, is available in Sally Smith’s book ‘Magnificent Women and Flying Machines.’
Author: Louise Allerton