I’m the co-curator for this very splendid exhibition which is open n Parliament right now! Read the Guardian review of it and watch the BBC Parliament programme on it (on iPlayer until 25 Aug 2018) Book your free ticket now on the Parliament website – open until 6 October 2018. You can also buy the … More Voice and Vote: Women’s Place in Parliament
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
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
I visited Guildhall Art Gallery last weekend and there was a temporary display there about an East London oral history community project, Working Lives of the Thames Gateway. I might have assumed such a project would be all about dockers, but there were lots of women among the video clips who had worked in all … More Working Lives on the Thames and Teesside
Among the MPs who opposed Herbert Samuel’s resolution to allow women to become MPs in 1918 was this man: This is Admiral of the Fleet Sir Hedworth Meux MP, much better known for his naval career than his Parliamentary career, which is perhaps just as well. His contribution to this Parliamentary Debate includes the following: I … More An opponent of women MPs: Admiral Meux
If you’re interested in women’s history and you fancy a visit to a museum in London, may I recommend the Foundling Museum’s current temporary exhibition, Threads of Feeling. You’ll have to hurry to see it in person, as it’s only on until 6 March 2011. But you can also view Threads of Feeling online exhibition. … More Foundlings and fabrics
This week I visited the Museum of London’s wonderful Modern London galleries, and particularly enjoyed mooching around their women’s suffrage display. I’m not researching the suffragettes myself, there is so much work already done on them, but I do find them fascinating and of course they are of interest generally in terms of women’s interactions … More The Museum of London
Parliament and Women in the early 20th century 