Many of the ways that women have impacted history can still be seen in the buildings and structures around us. This series investigates the period from 1850 to 1950 and shines a light on the way those women still influence our actions today.
Wollstonecraft, Nightingale and Women's Rights
In the 18th and 19th centuries, many women felt constrained by the lives they led, and wanted to move beyond the home and improve their world.
Uses and Abuses of Property
With public spaces working against them, Women had to find new ways to use domestic spaces for political ends.
Mary Macarthur and the Sweated Industries
Working women constantly fought exploitation in the "sweated" industries. The 20th century proved to be pivotal in that journey.
New Markets
Ways in which the WSPU's political action influenced department store policy and society's reaction against the New Woman's freedom.
Education for Life
Educational opportunities for working class girls did exist in the 18th and 19th centuries, but not every child had the time to take part.
Secondary schooling
The origins of secondary education for middle class girls to gain qualifications and improve their employment possibilities.
The Pursuit of Knowledge
Universities in the UK have existed since the 12th century, but it was only in the 19th century that women were first allowed to complete degrees.
Department stores and public conveniences in 19th-century England provided women with greater freedom by offering spaces for leisure, shopping, and social interaction.
Department stores and shopping had a massive impact on the experiences of women in the 19th and 20th centuries, both for good and bad.
How women's freedom to move freely in public was linked to shopping and the development of women only spaces.
Housing: Pioneers of Change
Octavia Hill developed a housing theory to tackle the blight of urban slums that influenced housing policy for a century.
Women's Housing Associations
Women formed housing associations to tackle the problem of lack of accommodation for single working women.
Architects, Builders and Garden Cities
Despite official barriers to their training as architects women found many ways in which to participate in architectural projects.
Gaining Recognition
Before the Second World War women were gradually becoming involved as architects in the design of houses.
Post-War Impact
In the post-war 1940s women architects were involved in some of the most progressive architectural developments in England.
Women's History through Buildings 1850-1950. A partnership project between English Heritage, The Women's Library and the TUC Library Collection at London Metropolitan University. Researched and written by Dr Cheryl Law.
The Story of Women through Buildings 1850 to 1950.
Women's History through Buildings 1850-1950 - partnership project between Historic England, The Women's Library and the TUC Library Collection at LMU.
Taking a look at women's contribution to the field of architecture.
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