Struggle and Suffrage in Plymouth

An overview of what life was really like for the women of Plymouth through the development of women's rights and two world wars.

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Nancy Astor, the first female MP to take her seat in Parliament; Dr Mabel Ramsay, instrumental in the suffrage campaign in the south-west; Dame Agnes Weston, the first woman to be buried with full naval honours after her pioneering work with the welfare of sailors - the maritime city of Plymouth certainly has its fair share of influential women.

The period from 1850 to 1950 saw a transformation in the lives of women of all classes. The rise of the feminist movement and the campaign for universal suffrage; continued industrialization; changes to employment and education law and the impact of two world wars had far-reaching effects on society and the place of women within it. Plymouth was no exception. Women of Plymouth: Women's Lives in Plymouth 1850-1950 will consider how the lives of women were changed, from the everyday to the extraordinary.