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
I was privileged recently to see an advance viewing of the upcoming film ‘Suffragette’, starring Carey Mulligan as Maud Watts. I would warmly recommend it and you can read my review of ‘Suffragette’ exclusively on the Vote 100 blog. Some of the scenes were filmed on location in Parliament. The House of Commons gave special … More ‘Suffragette’ film: women and Parliamentary committees
This year, 2015, marks the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta and 750 years since the De Montfort Parliament which was the forerunner of the modern day House of Commons. It’s being marked by a programme of events in Parliament throughout the year, Parliament in the Making. 20 January was the De … More Women and Democracy Day
This weekend I saw ‘The Winslow Boy’, a play by Terence Rattigan at the Old Vic. It was very good and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was one moment however, when I thought, ‘I really don’t think that’s likely!’ That was when Catherine (Kate) Winslow, the intelligent and principled daughter of the family, went to … More The Winslow Girl and the Ladies’ Gallery
I was in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, over the Easter weekend and visited the parish church. To my surprise, I discovered that there was a women’s history interest. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917), most famous for being the first woman doctor to qualify in Britain, was Mayor of Aldeburgh between 1908 and 1910. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson information panel … More Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Mayor of Aldeburgh
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the death of the suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, who was fatally wounded by the King’s horse at the Epsom Derby on 4 June 1913, and died in hospital a few days later. We’re interested in Emily in Parliament of course, because she hid in the crypt chapel on … More 2013: the year of Emily Wilding Davison
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
Parliament and Women in the early 20th century 