Struggle and Suffrage in Plymouth

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 honors 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. Struggle and Suffrage in Plymouth: Women's Lives and the Fight for Equality will consider how the lives of women were changed, from the everyday to the extraordinary.