Fry was born on 25 March 1869,[1] in Highgate.[2] Her father was Sir Edward Fry, the jurist, and the family were prominent Quakers connected to Fry's Chocolate.[2] One of nine children,[3] Fry had two brothers and six sisters:
Edward Fry encouraged the education of his daughters, in particular he encouraged an interest in natural sciences.[2] Fry collaborated with her father on several scientific works, including the botanical illustrations for British Mosses.[5] They co-authored The Mycetozoa, published in 1899,[6] which ran to a second edition in 1915.[7] In his introduction to The Liverworts he praised her "zealous cooperation" in their research.[8] She collected a large number of specimens, in particular from the family's estate at Failand. Specimens she collected there included: Physarum viride, Fuligo septica, Chondrioderma spumarioides, Lamproderma irideum and Dictydium umbilicatum.[6] She was an early member of the British Mycological Society.[2] She was also a member of the Bristol Naturalists' Society.[7]
Fry was also a collector of embroidery, particularly that produced by 'peasant' communities from around the world. In 1949 she donated her collection of 260 pieces to Bristol Museum. Her friends and relatives donated pieces to the collection, and she also commissioned pieces from local craftspeople through her network of acquaintances.[10] When she donated the collection the also gave £50 to fund its display, which she stipulated should have "good illumination as needlework requires narrow inspection".[10]
Fry was a member of the Eugenics Society and corresponded with them, in particular around the question of how to prevent people with disabilities from marrying.[11]
Letter to Eugenics Society enquiring about preventing a disabled woman from marrying, p. 1 (Wellcome Collection)
Letter to Eugenics Society enquiring about preventing a disabled woman from marrying, p. 2 (Wellcome Collection)
Reply to Agnes Fry suggesting sterilisation as a course of action, p. 1 (Wellcome Collection)
Reply to Agnes Fry suggesting sterilisation as a course of action, p. 1 (Wellcome Collection)
From the 1930s, Fry lived at Home Farm on the Failand Estate.[12] She planted two oak trees there: the first to commemorate the silver jubilee of George V and Queen Mary (in 1935); the second to mark the coronation of George VI (in 1937).[12] In 1958 the 393 acre Failand House Estate was donated to the National Trust.[13] The house had been the Fry family's summer home.[14][15] Fry died on 15 August 1958.
