The struggle for women’s suffrage will be explored in 2018 as part of the National Trust’s commemoration to mark 100 years since the passing of the Representation of the People Act.

Leading suffragist and political campaigner Lady Londonderry

The 1918 Act granted some women the right to vote in British parliamentary elections for the first time. A century on, the conservation charity will launch Women and Power, a year-long national programme celebrating this historic milestone.

Events, exhibitions, on-site tours and creative commissions will take place at properties with links to both sides of the suffrage movement. The Trust has also invited a number of contemporary thinkers and artists to reflect on the significance of the centenary of women’s suffrage at venues around the country.

Many National Trust properties have unique stories to tell about the people involved in the fight for women’s suffrage. They include:

• Bodnant in North Wales, where suffragist Laura McLaren founded the Liberal Women’s Suffrage Union
• Cliveden in Buckinghamshire, England, the home of Nancy Astor, the first female MP to take her seat in the House of Commons
• Mount Stewart in Northern Ireland where Edith, Lady Londonderry was an ardent suffragist and political campaigner, whose pro-suffrage behaviour caused her mother-in-law to label her ‘a young hound running riot’
• Gunby Hall in Lincolnshire, England, the estate run by Emily Massingberd, who founded the Pioneer Club; a pro-suffrage members’ club for the advancement and education of women
• Shaw’s Corner, Hertfordshire, home to playwright George Bernard Shaw, whose writings protesting the sexual double standard inspired the Pankhursts.

Emmeline Pankhurst, leader of the British suffragette movement

In contrast, the programme will also explore some of those who opposed women’s suffrage, including the National Trust’s co-founder Octavia Hill, who speculated that ‘a serious loss to our country would arise if women entered into the arena of party struggle and political life’.

Over 100 other Trust properties around the country will respond to the anniversary by giving greater prominence and depth to the stories and experiences of women from many periods of our history, some of which have been overlooked in the past.

Rachael Lennon, curator of the Women and Power programme for the National Trust, said: “We can see the footprints of this intensely personal and political argument in the places and collections of the National Trust. A century on from the Representation of the People Act, our programme will reveal some of the debates heard in the drawing rooms, kitchens and bedrooms of National Trust places as the country fought openly over whether a woman might have a voice in public life.

“Women and Power will explore the complexity of the histories of power and gender and will give voice to the, sometimes hidden, lives and legacies of women who lived and worked across the special places now in the care of the National Trust.”

Janet Redler, Chief Executive of Janet Redler Travel & Tourism, welcomed the National Trust programme. “I am sure that Women and Power will offer a fascinating insight into the lives and arguments which helped to shape women’s suffrage in this country. In 2018, we are looking forward to visiting some of the many National Trust properties which have a part to play in this story and to celebrating this important political anniversary for women all over the world.”

If you or your group would like to enjoy a tailor-made tour to the UK and Ireland exploring the places linked to the campaign for women’s suffrage, perhaps on one of our specialist tours for women, please do contact our friendly team today.