New Exhibition Will Celebrate Keswick’s Inspirational Women
By Sarah Sinclair
A new exhibition will showcase Keswick’s history through the eyes of its inspirational women.
From Wainwright to Wordsworth, the Lake District is often lauded for its great men, while relatively little remains widely known about the remarkable women of the region. The town of Keswick, for instance, has a history rich with influential females, but recently a local Girlguiding group learned of all of them for the first time. As we approach the centenary of the women’s vote next year, the Keswick Museum and Gallery has dedicated an exhibition to the lives of those often overlooked.
Part of the county-wide Women in Cumbria project, ‘Herstory of Keswick’ will celebrate the important contribution women have made over the centuries. Launching on 18 January, the exhibition will showcase a new account of Keswick’s story through the eyes of over 30, inspirational women, both historical and contemporary. Museum Curator, Sue Mackay said: “The fact that we are opening the eyes of local people and local, young people, to what has happened in Keswick and what is possible coming from Keswick is really exciting.”
She continued: “So much of women’s history is not written down or recorded and it’s quite difficult to access, but obviously the impact women have goes on continually in the home and in the community and then certain incidents bring that to the fore and make the news.”
Writing keswick’s story, will be a strong theme throughout the exhibition, as the town has produced some prolific female writers. From the wordsmiths of Greta Hall, Caroline Bowles and Mary Barker and their association with Robert Southey, to Eliza Lynn Linton, born in Crosthwaite vicarage, who became the first salaried British female journalist. Today the Keswick Reminder has recently printed its 6,000th edition, under the editorship of Jane Grave and previously, her mother Pat Branthwaite.
Also getting the recognition she deserves, is Edith Rawnsley, the founder, designer and director of Keswick School of Industrial Arts. Being one of the founding members of the National Trust, her husband Hardwicke Rawnsley will be familiar with residents, but Edith was incredibly formative in Keswick herself.
And not forgotten, are the working women, who had to endure the squalid conditions of 19th century yards. One of these in particular, was Esther Murray, who, after the premature death of her husband was forced to find a trade of her own and became a coal carter. At the age of 76, when most of us hope to be enjoying retirement, Esther was still slogging her guts out on the streets of Keswick.
But perhaps the most important Keswick woman to remember in 2018, is Catherine Marshall. Catherine, who lived with her family at Hawse End became a national figure as Parliamentary Secretary for the National Union of Women Suffrage Societies. Catherine was behind the Women’s Suffrage Pilgrimage to London in 1913, in which Women marched from all over the country, including Keswick. The Suffragists lobbied persistently for their cause, and as a result the Representation of the People Act in 1918 finally gave some women the vote. However, it was not until 1928 than men and women could vote on equal terms.
The exhibition will also feature heroines, alive and thriving in Keswick today, whose names have been put forward by the local community, Sue explained: “We have given people the chance to nominate women who have inspired them, so we have some famous and some as yet uncelebrated stories. There will be time within the exhibition for people to nominate and describe their own favourite women, so in that sense, the conversation will continue.”
The Women in Cumbria project, sees local museums partnering with women’s groups throughout Cumbria to celebrate the amazing contribution women have made to life in our county. Each museum will join the International Women’s Day parade in Carlisle on 3 March to commemorate 100 years of votes for women.
Sue added: “I hope people will take away how women’s lives have changed. How women can make of their lives what they want to, it’s about ambition, dreams and aspirations. And how women are the backbones of the community.”
For more information visit www.keswickmuseum.org.uk
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