Bring Out Your Women!
We can all name one or two of the women who have contributed to the history of our local borough. Queen Elizabeth I would probably be the woman most commonly associated with the history of Greenwich. There are of course many more and a group of local historians is embarking on a project to tell the histories of women who have helped to shape Greenwich’s history and/or past society more generally who are associated with the Greenwich area by virtue of their birth and upbringing or through residence/work.
They may have been trailblazers in a particular profession or have achieved in the arena of the arts or science; or through their activism/work they may have helped to bring about significant change. Eighteenth century actress Lavinia Fenton, nineteenth century inventor Celeste Sinibaldi and twentieth century artist Jean Cooke RA and are just three of the fascinating women who have already been nominated.
We are aiming to gather from local people the names of as many women from Greenwich’s history as possible and we are also asking for people to get involved in researching and writing some short biographies of the women who are selected. (There is some funding for training and expenses). The intention is to publish these in a book and on a digital resource for public use.
We invite you to nominate women you believe has contributed to the history of Greenwich. This can be any woman, from any period in the past, who has some association/connection to Greenwich. You may know very little about your nominee or lots – both are fine.
The deadline for nominations is 28 February 2025. Nominate your women HERE
This project is a collaboration between local historians, (coordinated by Claire Eustance, Senior Lecturer in History, Ann Dingsdale and Lynne Dixon) and is supported by the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust and the University of Greenwich.
Claire Eustance:
Claire Eustance lives in Greenwich and has worked at the University of Greenwich on and off since the 1990s and specializes in teaching and researching gender history. She has published widely on the history of 20th century British feminism, notably The Men’s Share? Masculinities, Male Support and Women’s Suffrage and most recently in the 2024 Routledge Companion to British Women’s Suffrage, edited by Krista Cowman.
Lynne Dixon:
Lynne Dixon, also from Greenwich, researches and writes about women’s history and has a particular interest in housing, architecture and social history. Her book ‘That Tiresome Lady Architect’: The life and the work of Annabel Dott was published in 2024.
Ann Dingsdale:
Ann Dingsdale is another Greenwich based historian and researcher who is the go-to authority on the first women’s suffrage petition presented to Parliament in June 1866 and the 1499 women who signed it.
For further information about this project please contact Dr Claire Eustance, Senior Lecturer, University of Greenwich at ec03@gre.ac.uk
