Mrs. Gladys Hutchinson, Lord Upjohn, and the case of the bankrupt “spendthrift…ne-er-do-well and… waster”

Tribe, John ORCID: 0000-0002-7272-7263 (2026) Mrs. Gladys Hutchinson, Lord Upjohn, and the case of the bankrupt “spendthrift…ne-er-do-well and… waster” In: “The Neglected Decade” Law in the 1950s. University of London Press,London.

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Summary

This chapter examines a bankruptcy case from the 1950s to see whether it qualifies as a ‘feminist judgment’ questioned from a socio-legal perspective. It uses feminist and afterlives methodologies to investigate and contextualise Mrs Gladys Hutchinson’s life, experience, and role in Stevens v. Hutchinson [1953] Ch. 299. Upjohn J’s ruling meant that Mrs Hutchinson, and the couple’s three children, were able to stay in the matrimonial home at 29 Carr Lane, York. The judgment in Stevens v. Hutchinson should be viewed as a significant marker in the evolution of law within the realm of bankruptcy and the family home, a brief moment of concern for women that quickly passed.

Item Type:	Chapter
Uncontrolled Keywords:	bankruptcy, debt, deserted wife, feminism, hutchinson, upjohn, women
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Law and Social Justice Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Law and Social Justice > Law Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > Faculty of Humanities & Social Sci (All T&R Staff) Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Law and Social Justice > School of Law and Social Justice (T&R Staff)
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	04 Feb 2026 16:31
Last Modified:	06 Feb 2026 11:55
Related Websites:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3196895
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