On tomorrow’s stroll though Bloomsbury squares we meet ten of the lesser known women who played a significant role in science, medicine, politics, the arts. They include the distinguished scientist imprisoned as a conscientious objector, the first woman to gain a Master of Surgery degree, the novelist who championed education for disabled children but opposed women’s suffrage, and more…
Booking via Eventbrite: http://ow.ly/VLnbF http://ow.ly/i/f9sl2
Meet the independent women of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Long before the Boris bike (though that should really be the Ken bike) the Rover safety bicycle offered new freedom to women as well as healthy outdoor exercise.
Fashion adapted to meet these new demands, introducing simpler more business-like styles.
In America, Amelia Bloomer gave her name to a particular form of comfortable clothing, while a few years later in the UK, the Rational Dress Society protested “against the introduction of any fashion in dress that either deforms the figure, impedes the movements of the body, or in any way tends to injure the health. It protests against the wearing of tightly-fitting corsets; of high-heeled shoes; of heavily-weighted skirts, as rendering healthy exercise almost impossible; and of all tie down cloaks or other garments impeding on the movements of the arms” .
Its members were more likely to advocate Dr Jaeger’s ‘sanitary’ woollen wear. Just the thing for the the aspiring doctor studying at the London School of Medicine for Women!
Join my walk on Saturday 16th January to discover Bloomsbury’s ‘New Women and they legacy they left behind.
Everyone on Islington Faces Blog has a story. Any idea what you do if you want to find out more about your Islington roots – either your family or the places you know in the borough? Or maybe you want to know more about Tufnell Park, Clerkenwell or the people who’ve lived in Islington like Joe Orton or find out who is buried here? If you’re curious about the old Islington then try booking an appointment at the Islington Local History Centre, where there’s a good chance you’ll meet enthusiastic Mark Aston who is in charge of Islington’s local history. Interview by Nicola Baird
“This isn’t a crusty museum,” says Mark Aston who runs Islington Museum and Local History Centre. “I’m keen to get more popular culture into this museum – sport, music and literature – because there’s history in everything.”
Mark Aston lives in Camden but he knows Islington better than…
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Capital Walks in London 