The Women's Library (London)
Encyclopedia
The Women's Library in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
is Britain
's main library and museum resource on women and the women's movement, especially concentrating on Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Library has over 60,000 books and pamphlets. In addition to scholarly works on women's history, there are biographies, popular works, government publications, and some works of literature. In February 2007, its collections were Designated by the UK Museums, Libraries and Archives Council for their "outstanding national and international importance".
The Women's Library is based just east of the City of London
, where the wealth of the City rapidly shades into the poverty of Tower Hamlets. It is part of London Metropolitan University
.
Its origin derives from the London National Society for Women's Suffrage, established in 1867, though the library was not formally organised until the 1920s, and the first Librarian, Vera Douie, was not appointed until 1 January 1926. At this time, and for many years afterward, it was called the Women's Service Library, in accordance with the name of the society which since the outbreak of World War 1 had been called the London Society for Women's Service. Vera Douie remained in post for 41 years, during which time she took a small but interesting society library and turned it into a major resource with an international reputation. It was originally housed in a converted public house
in Marsham Street, Westminster
, which in the 1930s was developed into Women's Service House, a major women's centre within walking distance of Parliament. Members of the society and library included writers such as Vera Brittain
and Virginia Woolf
, as well as politicians, most notably Eleanor Rathbone
. During World War II
it suffered bomb damage, and the library had no permanent home until 1957, when it moved to Wilfred Street, near Victoria railway station. By this time, the society and library had changed their names to the Fawcett Society
and the Fawcett Library, in commemoration of the non-militant suffrage leader Millicent Garrett Fawcett, and of her daughter, Philippa Fawcett
, an influential educationist and financial supporter of the society.
In the 1970s the society found it increasingly difficult to maintain the library, which was rescued by the then City of London Polytechnic (now London Metropolitan University
) in 1977. It then spent the best part of 25 years in a cramped basement increasingly liable to flooding, while increasing considerably its stock, its user base and its contacts with other such resources both nationally and internationally. In 1998 the Heritage Lottery Fund
awarded a grant of £4.2 million towards a new building on the site of the old East End wash houses in Old Castle Street, London E1, which opened to the public in February 2002. The reopened institution changed its name from the "Fawcett Library" to "The Women's Library".
The Library hosts a changing programme of exhibitions in its museum space; topics have included women's suffrage, beauty queens, office work, 1980s politics and prostitution. It holds public talks, shows films, runs reading groups and short courses and offers guided tours for free. The Reading Room itself is free to use and open to everyone, male and female.
Archives held at The Women's Library include Lesley Abdela
see the 300 Group Papers, Adelaide Anderson
, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
, Louisa Garrett Anderson
, Margery Corbett Ashby
, Lydia Becker
, Helen Bentwich
, Rosa May Billinghurst
, Chili Bouchier
, Elsie Bowerman
, Josephine Butler
, Barbara Cartland
, Jill Craigie
, Emily Davison
, Charlotte Despard
, Emily Faithfull
, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, Vida Goldstein
, Teresa Billington-Greig
, Elspeth Howe, Mary Lowndes
see our Artists' Suffrage League
Papers, Constance Lytton
, Harriet Martineau
, Edith How-Martyn
, Angela Mason
, Hannah More
, Helena Normanton
, Eleanor Rathbone
, Claire Rayner
, Sheila Rowbotham
, Maude Royden, Beatrice Seear, Baroness Seear
, Elaine Showalter
, William Thomas Stead
, Mary Stott
, Louisa Twining
, Fawcett Society
, several sets of papers related to Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp
, International Alliance of Women
, Miss Great Britain
, National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
, National Women's Register
, One Parent Families
, Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service, Six Point Group
, Women's Freedom League
, Women in Black
UK, National Federation of Women's Institutes, Women's National Anti-Suffrage League
, Women's Tax Resistance League
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
is Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's main library and museum resource on women and the women's movement, especially concentrating on Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Library has over 60,000 books and pamphlets. In addition to scholarly works on women's history, there are biographies, popular works, government publications, and some works of literature. In February 2007, its collections were Designated by the UK Museums, Libraries and Archives Council for their "outstanding national and international importance".
The Women's Library is based just east of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, where the wealth of the City rapidly shades into the poverty of Tower Hamlets. It is part of London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
.
Its origin derives from the London National Society for Women's Suffrage, established in 1867, though the library was not formally organised until the 1920s, and the first Librarian, Vera Douie, was not appointed until 1 January 1926. At this time, and for many years afterward, it was called the Women's Service Library, in accordance with the name of the society which since the outbreak of World War 1 had been called the London Society for Women's Service. Vera Douie remained in post for 41 years, during which time she took a small but interesting society library and turned it into a major resource with an international reputation. It was originally housed in a converted public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Marsham Street, Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
, which in the 1930s was developed into Women's Service House, a major women's centre within walking distance of Parliament. Members of the society and library included writers such as Vera Brittain
Vera Brittain
Vera Mary Brittain was a British writer, feminist and pacifist, best remembered as the author of the best-selling 1933 memoir Testament of Youth, recounting her experiences during World War I and the beginning of her journey towards pacifism.-Life:Born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Brittain was the...
and Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
, as well as politicians, most notably Eleanor Rathbone
Eleanor Rathbone
Eleanor Florence Rathbone was an independent British Member of Parliament and long-term campaigner for women's rights. She was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool.-Life:...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it suffered bomb damage, and the library had no permanent home until 1957, when it moved to Wilfred Street, near Victoria railway station. By this time, the society and library had changed their names to the Fawcett Society
Fawcett Society
The Fawcett Society is an organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigns for women's rights. The organisation's roots date back to 1866 when Millicent Garrett Fawcett dedicated her life to the peaceful campaign for women's suffrage....
and the Fawcett Library, in commemoration of the non-militant suffrage leader Millicent Garrett Fawcett, and of her daughter, Philippa Fawcett
Philippa Fawcett
Philippa Garrett Fawcett was an English mathematician and educationalist.She was the daughter of the suffragist Millicent Fawcett and of Henry Fawcett MP, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge and Postmaster General in Gladstone's government...
, an influential educationist and financial supporter of the society.
In the 1970s the society found it increasingly difficult to maintain the library, which was rescued by the then City of London Polytechnic (now London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
) in 1977. It then spent the best part of 25 years in a cramped basement increasingly liable to flooding, while increasing considerably its stock, its user base and its contacts with other such resources both nationally and internationally. In 1998 the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
awarded a grant of £4.2 million towards a new building on the site of the old East End wash houses in Old Castle Street, London E1, which opened to the public in February 2002. The reopened institution changed its name from the "Fawcett Library" to "The Women's Library".
The Library hosts a changing programme of exhibitions in its museum space; topics have included women's suffrage, beauty queens, office work, 1980s politics and prostitution. It holds public talks, shows films, runs reading groups and short courses and offers guided tours for free. The Reading Room itself is free to use and open to everyone, male and female.
Archives held at The Women's Library include Lesley Abdela
Lesley Abdela
Lesley Julia Abdela MBE at the London Gazette. "For services to the advancement of Women in Politics and Local Government." Hon D.Litt)...
see the 300 Group Papers, Adelaide Anderson
Adelaide Anderson
Dame Adelaide Mary Anderson, DBE was a British civil servant and labour activist, particularly interested in child labour and conditions in China. She served as HM Principal Lady Inspector of Factories from 1897 to 1921....
, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, LSA, MD , was an English physician and feminist, the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain and the first female mayor in England.-Early life:...
, Louisa Garrett Anderson
Louisa Garrett Anderson
Dr. Louisa Garrett Anderson CBE was a medical pioneer, a member of the Women's Social and Political Union, a suffragette, and social reformer. She was the daughter of the founding medical pioneer Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. Her aunt, Dame Millicent Fawcett was a British suffragist...
, Margery Corbett Ashby
Margery Corbett Ashby
Dame Margery Irene Corbett Ashby, DBE was a British Liberal politician, feminist and internationalist.She was born at Danehill, East Sussex, the daughter of Charles Henry Corbett a barrister who was sometime Liberal MP for East Grinstead and Marie Corbett herself a Liberal feminist and local...
, Lydia Becker
Lydia Becker
Lydia Ernestine Becker was a leader in the early British suffrage movement, as well as an amateur scientist with interests in biology and astronomy...
, Helen Bentwich
Helen Bentwich
Helen Caroline Bentwich CBE was a British social worker and politician.-Biography:Helen Franklin was born in Notting Hill, London, into a prominent Jewish family. Her father was a merchant banker and her uncles Herbert and Stuart Samuel were leading politicians...
, Rosa May Billinghurst
Rosa May Billinghurst
Rosa May Billinghurst, a suffragette, was born in Lewisham, London, in 1875.As a child she suffered total paralysis which left her disabled throughout her adult life. However, this did not prevent her becoming active in social work in a Greenwich workhouse, teaching in a Sunday School and joining...
, Chili Bouchier
Chili Bouchier
Chili Bouchier , later known as Dorothy Bouchier, was a British film actress who achieved success during the silent film era, and went on to many screen appearances with the advent of sound films, before progressing to theatre later in her career.She made her first appearance as a child dancer at a...
, Elsie Bowerman
Elsie Bowerman
Elsie Edith Bowerman was a lawyer, suffragette and RMS Titanic survivor.- Early life :Elsie Edith Bowerman was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the daughter of William Bowerman and his wife Edith Martha Barber. Her father died when she was 5 years old...
, Josephine Butler
Josephine Butler
Josephine Elizabeth Butler was a Victorian era British feminist who was especially concerned with the welfare of prostitutes...
, Barbara Cartland
Barbara Cartland
Dame Barbara Hamilton Cartland, DBE, CStJ , was an English author, one of the most prolific authors of the 20th century...
, Jill Craigie
Jill Craigie
Jill Craigie was an English documentary film director, screenwriter and feminist. She was the wife of the Labour Party politician Michael Foot , whom she met during the making of her film The Way We Live....
, Emily Davison
Emily Davison
Emily Wilding Davison was a militant women's suffrage activist who, on 4 June 1913, after a series of actions that were either self-destructive or violent, stepped in front of a horse running in the Epsom Derby, sustaining injuries that resulted in her death four days later.-Biography:Davison was...
, Charlotte Despard
Charlotte Despard
Charlotte Despard was a British-born, later Irish-based suffragist, novelist and Sinn Féin activist....
, Emily Faithfull
Emily Faithfull
Emily Faithfull was an English women's rights activist.-Biography:She was the youngest daughter of the Rev. Ferdinand Faithfull,and was born at Headley Rectory, Surrey. She took agreat interest in the conditions of working-women...
, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, Vida Goldstein
Vida Goldstein
Vida Jane Mary Goldstein was an early Australian feminist politician who campaigned for women's suffrage and social reform.-Early years:...
, Teresa Billington-Greig
Teresa Billington-Greig
Teresa Billington-Greig was a suffragette who created the Women's Freedom League. She left another suffrage organisation the WSPU as she considered the leadership too autocratic.-Life:...
, Elspeth Howe, Mary Lowndes
Mary Lowndes
Mary Lowndes was an important British stained-glass and poster artist, and an active member of the Suffragette movement. She was a leading light in the Arts and Crafts Movement and Chair of the Artists Suffrage League .-Work:...
see our Artists' Suffrage League
Artists' Suffrage League
The Artists' Suffrage League was one of several suffrage societies founded in this period. The period between 1903 and 1914 was one of resurgence in the women's suffrage movement...
Papers, Constance Lytton
Constance Lytton
Lady Constance Georgina Bulwer-Lytton was an influential British suffragette activist, writer, speaker and campaigner for prison reform, votes for women, and birth control.Although she was raised as member of the privileged, ruling class elite within British Society, she rejected this...
, Harriet Martineau
Harriet Martineau
Harriet Martineau was an English social theorist and Whig writer, often cited as the first female sociologist....
, Edith How-Martyn
Edith How-Martyn
Edith How-Martyn, nee How was a British suffragette and a member of the Women's Social and Political Union . She was arrested in 1906 for attempting to make a speech in the House of Commons. This was one of the first acts of suffragette militancy.-Life:Edith How was born in London in 1875, an...
, Angela Mason
Angela Mason
Angela Margaret Mason CBE is a British civil servant and activist, and a former director of the UK-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender lobbying organisation Stonewall...
, Hannah More
Hannah More
Hannah More was an English religious writer, and philanthropist. She can be said to have made three reputations in the course of her long life: as a poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, as a writer on moral and religious subjects, and as a practical...
, Helena Normanton
Helena Normanton
Helena Florence Normanton, KC was the first woman to practise as a barrister in the UK. In 1922 she was called to the Bar of England and Wales at the Middle Temple, following the example set by Ivy Williams earlier that year....
, Eleanor Rathbone
Eleanor Rathbone
Eleanor Florence Rathbone was an independent British Member of Parliament and long-term campaigner for women's rights. She was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool.-Life:...
, Claire Rayner
Claire Rayner
Claire Berenice Rayner OBE was an English nurse, journalist, broadcaster and novelist, best known for her role for many years as an agony aunt.-Early life:...
, Sheila Rowbotham
Sheila Rowbotham
Sheila Rowbotham is a British socialist feminist theorist and writer.-Early life:Rowbotham was born in Leeds, the daughter of a salesman for an engineering company and an office clerk From an early age, she was deeply interested in history...
, Maude Royden, Beatrice Seear, Baroness Seear
Beatrice Seear, Baroness Seear
Nancy Seear, Baroness Seear PC was a British social scientist and politician. She was leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords from 1984 to 1988, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 1988 to 1997...
, Elaine Showalter
Elaine Showalter
Elaine Showalter is an American literary critic, feminist, and writer on cultural and social issues. She is one of the founders of feminist literary criticism in United States academia, developing the concept and practice of gynocritics.She is well known and respected in both academic and popular...
, William Thomas Stead
William Thomas Stead
William Thomas Stead was an English journalist and editor who, as one of the early pioneers of investigative journalism, became one of the most controversial figures of the Victorian era. His 'New Journalism' paved the way for today's tabloid press...
, Mary Stott
Mary Stott
Mary Stott was a British feminist and journalist. Stott was a journalist and columnist on the "Women's Page" of The Guardian....
, Louisa Twining
Louisa Twining
Louisa Twining was an English philanthropic worker who devoted herself to issues and tasks related to the English Poor Law.-Biography:She was born in London...
, Fawcett Society
Fawcett Society
The Fawcett Society is an organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigns for women's rights. The organisation's roots date back to 1866 when Millicent Garrett Fawcett dedicated her life to the peaceful campaign for women's suffrage....
, several sets of papers related to Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp
Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp
Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp was a peace camp established to protest at nuclear weapons being sited at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, England. The camp began in September 1981 after a Welsh group, Women for Life on Earth, arrived at Greenham to protest against the decision of the British...
, International Alliance of Women
International Alliance of Women
The International Alliance of Women is a non-governmental, feminist organization, which embraces both women’s groups and individuals. The basic principle of the IAW is that the full and equal enjoyment of human rights is due to all women and girls....
, Miss Great Britain
Miss Great Britain
Miss Great Britain is a female beauty contest currently held in London. Between 1956 and 1989, it was held in the seaside resort of Morecambe. It is one of the oldest of its kind in the country, with the first edition held in 1945...
, National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies , also known as the Suffragists was an organisation of women's suffrage societies in the United Kingdom.-Formation and campaigning:...
, National Women's Register
National Women's Register
National Women’s Register is an organisation of women’s groups in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and the Netherlands. There is a branch of the organisation in Zimbabwe known as Women In Touch...
, One Parent Families
One Parent Families
is a registered charity which provides advice, support and campaigns for single parent families. Following a merger with One Parent Families in 2007 it was briefly known as "One Parent Families|Gingerbread" before relaunching as Gingerbread in January 2009.J. K...
, Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service, Six Point Group
Six Point Group
The Six Point Group was a British feminist campaign group founded by Lady Rhondda in 1921 to press for changes in the law of the United Kingdom in six areas.-Aims:The six original specific aims were:# Satisfactory legislation on child assault;...
, Women's Freedom League
Women's Freedom League
The Women's Freedom League was an organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigned for women's suffrage and sexual equality.The group was founded in 1907 by seventy members of the Women's Social and Political Union including Teresa Billington-Greig, Charlotte Despard, Elizabeth How-Martyn, and...
, Women in Black
Women in Black
Women in Black is a women's anti-war movement with an estimated 10,000 activists around the world. The first group was formed by Israeli women in Jerusalem in 1988, following the outbreak of the First intifada.-History:...
UK, National Federation of Women's Institutes, Women's National Anti-Suffrage League
Women's National Anti-Suffrage League
The Women's National Anti-Suffrage League was established in London on 21 July 1908. Its aims were to oppose women being granted the vote in United Kingdom parliamentary elections, although it did support their having votes in local government elections...
, Women's Tax Resistance League
Women's Tax Resistance League
The Women’s Tax Resistance League was a direct action group associated with the Women's Freedom League that used tax resistance to protest the disenfranchisement of women during the British women’s suffrage movement....
External links
- Official website
- Zines check out details on Zine Wiki for our zine collection
- GENESIS - Guide to sources for women's history in the British Isles, maintained and developed by The Women's Library