Part of a busy High Wycombe road should be renamed in honour of a pioneer who did “amazing” things in the town, councillors agreed.

High Wycombe’s representatives were unanimous in their praise for renaming a section of Abbey Way, between the traffic lights and Marlow Hill, either Dame Frances Dove Way or Frances Dove Way.

Cllr Lesley Clarke OBE came up with the plan with local historian Willie Reid to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Dame Frances Dove and the founding of Wycombe Abbey School, which is accessed along that section of the road.

Dame Frances was an influential figure who fought for equal opportunities for women in education and society in general.

Presenting her idea to councillors on the High Wycombe town committee on Tuesday evening, Cllr Clarke said the move was important because “we have never really acknowledged what Dame Frances Dove has done for the town”.

She said: “She felt that women should have a proper education and in the week that we are celebrating International Women’s Day, it is probably one of the things that really is key.

“She was very modest in her ways; she didn’t like praise but was always praising her staff. All in all, she’s a wonderful attribute to High Wycombe and I just hope the committee would agree to support the request to change the name of the road.

“Wycombe Abbey School support it, the nursery is supportive of it too. There is a Frances Dove Close up on Cressex Road, but that’s a HP12 postcode so there should be no confusion with Frances Dove Way, which would be a HP11 postcode.

“There are some naysayers already in the Bucks Free Press that say they haven’t been consulted; they don’t have to be consulted – we consulted with the people who live on this piece of road.”

Dame Frances, who stood as a councillor as soon as women were allowed to in 1907, was nominated to become the first female mayor in England the next year, but failed to get elected by just two votes.

Cllr Julia Wassell said: “The mayoral thing Cllr Clarke has been very discreet about, but there was opposition from male councillors.

“She would have been the first female mayor in the country and what a feather in the cap for High Wycombe that would have been.

“But of course, we were not that progressive and we are not that progressive today really, with our numbers of women.

“This is a chance to really show we respect our leading women and historical pioneers like Frances Dove.”

Cllr Brian Pearce also praised the name change as a “marvellous idea”, while Cllr Wendy Mallen added: “She should be commemorated, we should be proud of the people who did good things for our town, even if we are messing it up now with all these scooters.”

All present councillors at the virtual meeting were in favour of changing the name from the section of Abbey Way between the Easton Street traffic lights and the bottom of Marlow Hill, close to Wycombe Abbey – which Dame Frances founded in 1896.

She also helped set up Godstowe Preparatory School on Amersham Hill in 1900, as well as serving as governor at Royal Grammar School, the Technical Institute and Wycombe High School.

She strongly believed women should be given the same opportunities in education as men and should be paid the same amount for similar work.

She set up a branch of the NUWSS suffragists society in High Wycombe in 1904 and set up the Central Aid Society in 1906 to help the poor of High Wycombe, who were often seen begging at the Abbey gates.

Dame Frances also paid for and set up the Dove Window in All Saints Parish Church, depicting 17 women who played their part in history.

She was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1921 and became a Dame of the British Empire in 1928.

She passed away days before her 95th birthday on June 21, 1942.