The Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art at the House of Commons is hosting a public lecture to mark a newly acquired portrait of Margot Asquith by Philip de Laszlo. The lecture is on ‘Margot Asquith and the role of the political hostess’ by Krista Cowman, Professor of History, University of Lincoln. I’m very … More Upcoming lecture for International Women’s Day
One always has to be careful answering the question ‘who was the first woman MP?’ as there are two answers. First there was Constance Markievicz, who was the first woman to be elected at the general election of 1918, but as a Sinn Fein MP who was in prison at the time, she never took … More Nancy Astor, first woman MP to take her seat
Edit July 2014: great news that the Church of England has finally backed women bishops. Maude Royden would be proud! Below is my blog article on early campaigns for women priests and bishops, originally published in November 2012. Following the decision of the General Synod this week not to allow female bishops in the Church … More Early 20th century campaigns for women priests
There was a great ‘Archive on 4’ programme on last night, the Lost World of the Suffragettes. Professor Sir Brian Harrison had the foresight to do oral history recordings in the 1970s with survivors of the women’s suffrage campaign, the tapes of which are now held at The Women’s Library. There were some very interesting reminiscences … More The Lost World of the Suffragettes
Last night I was privileged to hear a talk in Parliament about Lady Rhondda given by Professor Angela V John, at an event to mark the acquisition of a portrait of Lady Rhondda by the House of Lords. The portrait has been newly conserved and framed, and looks fantastic. The portrait was acquired by the … More Lady Rhondda takes her place in the House of Lords
On 23 May 2011, UNESCO announced the inscription of twenty archive documents and collections to its UK Memory of the World Register. I’m delighted to say that this included an inscription for Documentary Heritage of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Britain, a collection of eight items held by The Women’s Library and the Parliamentary Archives. … More UNESCO recognition for women’s suffrage documents
Over the bank holiday weekend I went to Hever Castle in Kent, most famous as the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. I didn’t know until I got there, though, that Hever was also a home of the Astor family. William Waldorf Astor bought Hever Castle in 1903, and it passed to his second son John … More Lady Astor of the rowing boat
Did you know there’s a suffragette monument in London half-way between Victoria and Westminster? I had no idea until I stumbled upon a reference to it on a London blog the other day, and today I went to look for it. There’s a little patch of grass opposite New Scotland Yard called Christchurch Gardens, with … More Suffragette Fellowship memorial
In the UK women were allowed to become MPs in 1918, which was the same year some women got the vote. Curiously, this was not always the case elsewhere. During the debates on women MPs, the hostile Mr Peto MP argued that in New Zealand for twenty-five years women had… been eligible to sit as … More Early women MPs: New Zealand, Australia, Finland
2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the 1911 census, famously boycotted by some suffragettes. One of the best-known census protests took place in Parliament, when Emily Wilding Davison hid overnight in a cupboard in the crypt chapel in order to give her residence on the form as the Houses of Parliament. I was looking at Votes … More Emily Wilding Davison, Parliament and the 1911 census
