Born in London in 1877, Constance Chellingworth Radcliffe Cooke was the eldest child of Charles and Frances Radcliffe Cooke. The family moved to Herefordshire in 1881 when Charles inherited Hellens at Much Marcle. After an unadventurous rural upbringing Constance challenged…
Category: Blog
The Women’s History Network blog
Eva Gonzalès: Pupil, Muse, Artist – Catherine Pell
A small but important work in the collection of the Leeds Castle Charitable Foundation is a pastel portrait, created by the French artist Eva Gonzalès. Born in Paris in 1849, Gonzalès went on to become one of the great female…
An analysis of liminality in the context of Irish migrant women – Aisling Keavey
An analysis of liminality in the context of Irish migrant women I completed a practice-led research Masters in August 2022, the purpose of the study was to explore and answer the question, “How have female members of the Irish diaspora…
Breaking Barriers: The Typewriter That Rewrote History – Ina Ilkova
Breaking Barriers: The Typewriter That Rewrote History In 1969, a legal battle unfolded in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Attorney Sylvia Roberts stepped forward to argue the first sex discrimination case appealed under Title VII of the Civil…
Re(discovering) Miss Lister: The Rise of Collaborative Research in the Anne Lister Community – Packed With Potential
When Anne Lister rose to worldwide fame in the summer of 2019, new stories emerged beyond those featured in the BBC series Gentleman Jack, which contributed to a new wave of interest in Lister’s story and those of her contemporaries.…
Commemorating the Life of Jan Morris – Jane Lilly and Bette Baldwin
When Jan Morris died, aged 94, the Guardian obituary said the ‘greatest distance travelled by Jan’ was not across the Earth’s surface ‘but between extraordinary identities: from being the golden-boy newspaper reporter James Morris to the female voyager and historian…
Beyond Norma Rae: How Puerto Rican and Southern White Women Fought for a Place in the American Working Class – Aimee Loiselle
In the 1970s, Gloria Maldonado and Crystal Lee Sutton decided to become active in their unions. Challenging work conditions in the textile and apparel industry—the low wages and lack of dignity—was a core motivation, but both women also wanted to…
Gender and Bathing in Antiquity – Giacomo Savani
Building on the work I carried out during my internship with the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) on gender identity, this post addresses the role of gender in ancient bathing, focusing on the experience of unwell women and…
The Cancellation of Gentleman Jack: A Year On – Sarah Wingrove
On the morning of the 8th of July 2022, fans of the television series, Gentleman Jack (HBO/BBC, 2019-22) awoke to the news that their hopes of a third season were not going to be realised – or certainly not by…




