Friday, March 09, 2018

In Coalbrookdale

Today we drove down to the Shropshire village of Coalbrookdale and The Museum of Iron to see the new installation there.

Across the green outside the Museum of Iron are thirty seven silhouette figures of the women who worked in the industries in and around Coalbrookdale and who, on 6th February 1918, became eligible to vote in parliamentary elections for the first time.

Just thirty seven out of the one hundred and sixty women working in the ceramic and iron industries in the region were granted the right to vote.  Of those thirty seven only thirteen had the right to vote in their own right the others were allowed a vote because their husband's status qualified him to vote.


Women could only vote if they were over thirty years old or if they or their husband owned a certain amount of property.  The right of all men and women aged twenty one and over to vote took another ten years and was finally achieved when the Equal Franchise Act of 1928 was passed.

The silhouettes looked wonderful spread out across the green in front of the Museum of Iron.  Each one has the name of a woman worker and their job description.

It was quite sobering to walk amongst them and think about how hard they would have worked.  Some of the job descriptions of the women were many and varied, encaustic tile maker, mosaicist, pipe maker, tobacco pipe packer, gold burnisher and china print transferer to name but a few sound like skilled and repetitive work.  The women's ages ranged from thirty years old to the eldest, Emma Glaze who was 77 and a ground layer at the Coalport factory, this is a part of the decorating process by which an application of one overall colour is added to an object before decoration, it was usually done for the better class of wares.

In 1918 Emma Austin was sixty two years old and a paintress at the Coalport China Factory.  She could vote because of her husband's status and yet painting fine china and ceramics is very skilled work. In 1911 Emma was fifty five and living at 49 High Street, Coalport with her husband Henry a carter at the pottery factory and her daughter Florrie who was an apprentice paintress.  Emma and Henry had eight children four of whom had survived.

Here is a link to more information about the installation and  the thirty seven women who could vote and also about the one hundred and thirty+  who still didn't have the right to a vote. I think I heard mention on the local news that the exhibition is on view until the end of summer.
 

29 comments:

  1. A thought provoking installation! I like it.

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    1. Thank you William, it is quite thought ptovoking isn't it?:)

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  2. What a marvelous, and moving exhibit.

    A reminder, of many things, which we now take for granted.

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    1. Indeed, times have changed sometimes for the better:)

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  3. What a great idea. The exclusion of women from the voting process seems so ridiculous from our modern stand point especially that a few could vote because of their husband's status whilst others couldn't. Thanks for sharing Rosie. 😊

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    1. It does seem ridiculous now doesn't it? All those hardworking amd skilled women keeping the industry of the country running, especially during WWI, and yet not allowed to have a say in anything:)

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  4. Lovely to read about the lives of others in such a thought provoking way. Sounds well worth a visit. B x

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    1. It was well worth a visit and it was interesting to find out about the lives and working conditions of the women who were allowed a vote and also those who weren't:)

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  5. An amazing exhibition, thought provoking on so many levels.

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    1. Yes, it was fascinating finding out about all the different women who were affected by the changes:)

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  6. A wonderful post Rosie and such a moving exhibition. It looks well worth a visit. I found it particularly interesting because my ancestors on the paternal side used to be pipemakers in Broseley although that was in the 1800's and from memory by the 1900's they had moved to Herefordshire. The link makes fascinating reading and I will get my family tree out and see if I can recognise any names.

    Some time ago we discussed perhaps meeting for a coffee if we ever came to Trentham Gardens - just a little apology really as my daughter was on holiday last week and suddenly decided late Thursday evening she wanted to visit Trentham Shopping Village (recommended by one of her friends) the next day. It was really too short notice to get in touch with you for which I apologise but it was such a spur of the moment decision and you can never tell with my daughter if she will change her mind anyway! We didn't have time to visit he gardens but still plan to one day so, all being well, I will email you next time. I will try and plan the visit in advance!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the post, a lot of the families seem connected by marriage you probably would find familiar names even if you direct line had moved away from the area. I'm glad you got to visit Trentham even if just the shops and garden centre area, there is lots to see and do there and some interesting shops to visit. Did you treat yourselves? We were asked to do a survey by some school boys once and they asked what shops would enhamce the area for us and I said a decent book shop!:) Late Spring or summer are the best times to visit the garden and lakeside walk. We walked around the lake early last week and swans and coots are starting to build nests it won't be long efore all the daffodils come out. We may manage a meeting later this year:)

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    2. Thanks Rosie - Will definitely bear in mind late Spring or summer for the gardens and will be in touch then. Didn't buy too much - just cheese and pickle from the Cheshire Cheese Shop :) I agree a good book shop there would be lovely :) Will try and put some photos on a post soon - not having much time at the moment. Am finally resigning from looking after my mother's house as can't cope with it all any more but there is a heck of a lot of work to do in connection with the resignation so bogged down in paperwork! :(

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    3. The cheese shop is one that I've never been in although we have bought bits from Brown and Greens. All the responsibility and consequent paperwork sounds very frustrating and tiring, hope all goes well. Take care:)

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    4. Yes, we went in Brown and Greens after the cheese shop :) Thank you for your kind words.

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  7. What a great idea - very thought provoking.

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    1. Thanks Louise it does make you think doesn't it?:)

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  8. Very interesting & the figures a beautifully worked & placed. Thank you for that insight into the history of Coalbrookdale. Take care.

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    1. Thank you Susan, the figures are quite inspiring aren't they? Glad you enjoyed seeing them:)

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  9. What an interesting visit, Rosie. It is so important for us to remember that women had to fight for the right to vote and it was a long and hard-won battle. It makes me sad when people are apathetic and don’t take the time and trouble to exercise this democratic right. Thank you for sharing your visit. Marie x

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    1. Thanks, Marie I do try always to vote because the right to do so was hard won. Glad yoiu enjoyed the post:)

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  10. A great blog Rosie. A timely reminder of why the fight continues. From 1869 single women ratepayers could vote in local elections and from 1894 they could be elected to local school boards and as Poor Law Guardians. Small steps along the way. Votes in the UK at 18 date from 1970, so neither of us were able to vote until we were 21. I hope all the UK follows Scotland's example and gives 16 year olds the vote soon. I hope the Coalbrookdale women stay in place forever as a reminder of the fact that all that we have has not been given easily by Parliament. A truly wonderful post!

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    1. Thank you Robert, glad you enjoyed it. I had a feeling that the first time I voted was in 1970 for the new labour candiate who replaced Harold Neal as MP for the constituency we lived in which was Bolsover so the first person I voted for in a general election was Dennis Skinner. I also remember when I was about 19 they changed the 'coming of age' year from 21 to 18. I wish the Coalbrookdale women could stay where they are but I guess they wouldn't survive very long through bad winter weather, perhaps they will move them inside:)

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  11. It's humbling to think of the rights that we now enjoy and how they were denied to so many women in the past. The black figures would make a thoughtful installation. In Canada, it wasn't until 1929 that women were considered "persons" in the eyes of the law. I just can't imagine it. We do well to remember.

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    1. Thanks, Lorrie we do indeed need to remember how long it took, I didn't realise that Canada was a year after us here in the UK. It just seems unbelievable now doesn't it?:)

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  12. It looks like an impactful installation Rosie. I always vote and always will even if I was just to 'spoil' the paper. I owe it to the women who made a stand. x

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    1. My thoughts exactly Simone, always vote for those women and for all my ancestors, male and female who never had the chance:)

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  13. There are so many interesting, history-packed places in your part of the world, Rosie. I like the idea of using the silhouettes to remember the lives of women who made such a difference for us all, very neat.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. The silhouettes are a good idea aren't they? We do have a lot of areas of industrial history around us as well as some lovely castles and houses:)

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