Tributes paid to 'trailblazing' former chairwoman

Tributes have been paid to a "trailblazing" woman who dedicated her life to improving the lives of those less fortunate.

Dr Stella Clarke CBE, the first woman to be chair of council at the University of Bristol, has died aged 94, her family announced.

Clarke was also a former BBC governor, set up The Community Self Build Agency (CSBA) and served as a councillor in North Somerset for 25 years, where she lived for most of her life.

Known as Tess to her family and friends, her son Giles Clarke said she helped "lead the way for women" to feel they had a "right to be sitting in the decision-making rooms".

"She was particularly interested in other people and doing what she could to improve the opportunities for the less fortunate," he said.

Born on 16 February 1932 in Glasgow, Clarke was educated at Cheltenham Ladies College and Trinity College in Dublin.

She later married Charles Clarke, settling in North Somerset.

With a particular interest in housing, Giles Clarke said his mother set up the Brighton Street Project, a women's refuge in St Pauls, Bristol, in 1967.

"It was essentially a building where street women, irrespective of colour, could go for safety," he said.

He said it was the refuge that helped her understand the nature of the community in St Pauls and the "terrible housing they suffered from".

He said she set up the CSBA in 1989. Its first project, called Zenzele, trained 12 unemployed people to plan and self-build their own homes, with all participants subsequently becoming employed.

The scheme was later used as a model for other UK schemes.

"She helped the people of St Pauls to shape St Pauls. What she was was a great facilitator, helping get outside parties to provide experience, expertise and money," her son said.

She received an honorary fellowship from the University of Bristol in 2008.

Paying tribute to her, Prof Judith Squires, deputy vice chancellor and provost at the university, said: "Stella made a sustained and outstanding contribution to the life of the University of Bristol over many years.

"From 1982, when she became a member of the University Council, to 1997 when she stood down, she provided invaluable leadership, including becoming the Chair of Council - the first woman to hold the post."

Her son added: "It's very hard to believe in 2026 how rare it was for women to be in positions of authority, particularly in her case. When she started at the BBC, she was one of the youngest people in the room.

"She wouldn't accept any nonsense."

He said she had five children and was a "tremendous figure" to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

"She had time for every single one of them," he said.

"She was invariably the person they could trust and could go and see when they were feeling alone in the world."

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