four o'clock
The women proceeded to Parliament Square in small groups so as to keep within the letter of the law . Some like Vivie carried banners with pitiful devices -- `` Where there 's a Bill there 's a Way , '' `` Women 's Will Beats Asquith 's Skill , '' and so on ... . She wished she had given more direct attention to these mottoes , but much of this procedure had been got up on impulse and little preparation made . It was near to four o'clock on a fine November afternoon when the four hundred and fifty women began their movement towards Parliament Square . A red sun was sinking behind the House of Lords , the blue of the misty buildings and street openings was enhanced by the lemon yellow lights of the newly-lit lamps . The avenues converging on the Houses of Parliament were choked with people , and vehicles had to be diverted from the streets . The men in the watching crowd covered the pavements and island `` refuges , '' leaving the roadways to the little groups of struggling women , and the large force -- a thousand or more -- of opposing police .