In February 1908, she and her sister, Mary Gertrude Howey, were arrested alongside other WSPU members after hiding in a pantechnicon van that was driven into the House of Commons.

Her demonstrations became more daring, including hiding overnight in the organ at Colston Hall, Bristol before Augustine Birrell, MP was due to speak, assisted by Vera Holme inside and Minnie Baldock.

[2] She went further on 5 September 1910, when Howey and two other suffragettes, Vera Wentworth and Jessie Kenney, assaulted Prime Minister Asquith and Herbert Gladstone while the men were playing golf, and pursued Asquith to his holiday home, left protest cards, saying 'Release Patricia Woodlock' and other suffragette materials in his private garden.

Her mother, Emily, resigned from the WSPU and her father, Linley, wrote letters of protest to Christabel Pankhurst, Howey and Wentworth.

[1] In April 1910,[3] she received national attention after leading "a WSPU demonstration through London dressed as Joan of Arc, in a full set of armour" on horseback[1] a role also played by nineteen year old actress Marjery Bryce.

[1][7] She often took hunger strikes in prison and endured forcible feeding;[1] on one such occasion it took her four months to recover from the resultant throat injuries.

She was sentenced to four months' imprisonment[3] but was released early after a prolonged hunger strike that resulted in the breakage of almost all of her teeth from forcible feeding.