Sheffield has many claims to fame, but perhaps one of the least well known is that the first-ever petition for women’s suffrage by a group of women came from the town in 1851. This was organised by the Women’s Rights Association (WRA). Although occasionally mentioned in histories, the group and the working class women who led it have been overlooked. The WRA was set up by a group of Sheffield working class women under the umbrella of Chartism – the mass movement for democratic and social rights that swept Britain from late 1830s to the 1850s.
This exhibition aims to raise the profile of the WRA and Chartist women in the city and beyond as part of a larger story about female activism and feminism. Using a range of sources and pooling academic, family and community history, the exhibition tells the story of the pioneering women who set up this society. It also looks at what Chartism was, and who the Chartists were, and what life was like for the working classes of early Victorian Sheffielders.
The exhibition will take place in the Samuel Worth Chapel within Sheffield General Cemetery.
Cafe and bookshop will also be open.
