Unusually for me, I’m going to reprise the subject I used on this week’s Persephone Post, because it’s given me much to think about and made me want to go further with it.
Excellent newsletter and highlights precisely the problem over and over again with women's participation, in arts, media, science, medicine, its always the same: the women are there, often right from the start, but they get airbrushed and then erased from history by people like Gavin Stamp. It is the critics and the historians who vanish them and do them and future generations a wicked disservice. The current exhibition at Tate Britain of women artists called Now You See Us is a brilliant example of this and there is so much work to be done to bring the excellent work that so many women have done back into the light where it deserves to be. I try to do this with the ultimate female occupation - textiles - in the Haptic & Hue podcast - where the hands that fashioned textiles throughout history are simply anonymous and the stories rarely if ever told. Please please go back to writing the story of the women who made stained glass - they deserve the attention!
I’ve just forwarded this to my friend, whose great aunt was an architect in the 1930s. Her grandmother was a solicitor. In rural west Wales. They must have been formidable sisters.
Now You See Us is a fantastic exhibition. Although it made me ponder how many talents were lost under mountains of washing, unending pregnancies and a lack of access to any creative materials/tuition.
Ive just been downstairs to look in our book ‘ the £1000 house’. This was an interwar book on house design for those who needed to build a house that could be run without a servant. We have this book because our house is based on one of the designs. I’d never looked at the architects names but yes - all men…… or what look like practices run by men - which makes it hard to know in the wrapper of a larger organisation if there were women behind them. The houses are all very practical in it and contain things like cupboards and sensible things like large pantries. Thank you for another extremely interesting article. Your work is so appreciated. And i still maintain you should self publish that womens stained glass book on Unbound. I am sure John Mitchison would help you. And backlisted is a fantastic podcast.
It is so *tedious*, isn’t it, going through this process time and time again? The blanking of women. (How do the men [of course it’s nearly always men] do it, btw: *ignore* what’s in front of them, who’s standing right next to them? It must be deliberate, or is it deep cultural habit?) We may think this or that battle is won, but it really really isn’t. It seems that it never is. It has to be fought over and over again. Thank you for this, Jane, and more power to your elbow.
This particularly chimes with me at the moment. I’m studying eighteenth century literature and the beginnings of the novel. At the time there were a large number of women authors (and poets, actually). They were successful and respected and many of them made decent livings from writing. But since then, they’ve almost all been forgotten. Or rather - wilfully ignored, deleted, obscured. Dale Spender identified 100 successful women writers before Jane Austen. Most people - even people who read a lot - would struggle to name more than one or two, if that.
Fabulous newsletter Jane. Well, all your newsletters are fabulous but everything, including the love of Crittall windows really hit the spot this morning.
So, I can’t really add to the conversation about women in architecture - although my mother was a serious scientist, studying at UCL during WW2, good friend to Irene Franklin, sister of Rosalind of double helix discovery. Mum was always slightly frustrated at having been forced to give up chemical research work with Anglo Iranian, now BP, because she married a fellow worker - it was always the women who had to step back. She finally found her metier again when I (youngest of five) was 18 months old. The family story has it that she threw all the washing up into the sink and said ‘I can’t stand this anymore, I’m going back to work!’ And she then taught chemistry, very successfully, for nearly 30 years.
Separately I have to throw in an extraordinary Cachmille-Day connection! Before Jim did the exhibition about Almshouses he did an exhibition in our church about the architect and other churches he had built - the architect being one Nugent Cachemaille-Day!
I am probably going to buy the Interwar book for my son in law, who has been designing buildings for the best part of 20 years, but is only getting his architecture degree now. I buy him a lovely book on architecture at every gift giving occasion - mostly on Australian and NZ architecture, because we're in Melbourne.
However, when I hand it over, I will tell him exactly what is wrong with it (he will understand). It's a pity that I can't give him something that actually does reflect the whole picture, not just a blinkered old white male view.
I work full time in the NHS and did a part time PhD (I am a mental health historian) and I knew my study was a history from the margins, but it took me a wee while longer to realise that pretty much everything except the history of powerful white men is marginal. Furthermore, to be marginal and visible is quite the triumph really, frankly it is exhausting. I love inter-war period architecture, just thinking about the Midland Hotel Morecambe soothes my soul, thank you for the links in your article will delve with interest.
Great post, Jane, and so much to explore here. Thanks for flagging my post on Gertrude Leverkus, part of my ongoing project to bring more attention to the contribution of women to business and commerce in the late 19th and early 20th century.
This is fascinating, Jane. Great to hear about these women architects. I've been fortunate enough to visit the Dora Cosens house on Wilberforce Road, but haven't managed to find much biographical information about her.
It certainly does, Jane. Which reminds me, Lizzie Broadbent was in touch suggesting a November get together in Cambridge. Would be great to meet you if that suits.
Excellent newsletter and highlights precisely the problem over and over again with women's participation, in arts, media, science, medicine, its always the same: the women are there, often right from the start, but they get airbrushed and then erased from history by people like Gavin Stamp. It is the critics and the historians who vanish them and do them and future generations a wicked disservice. The current exhibition at Tate Britain of women artists called Now You See Us is a brilliant example of this and there is so much work to be done to bring the excellent work that so many women have done back into the light where it deserves to be. I try to do this with the ultimate female occupation - textiles - in the Haptic & Hue podcast - where the hands that fashioned textiles throughout history are simply anonymous and the stories rarely if ever told. Please please go back to writing the story of the women who made stained glass - they deserve the attention!
I know, it needs to be written!
I’ve just forwarded this to my friend, whose great aunt was an architect in the 1930s. Her grandmother was a solicitor. In rural west Wales. They must have been formidable sisters.
Now You See Us is a fantastic exhibition. Although it made me ponder how many talents were lost under mountains of washing, unending pregnancies and a lack of access to any creative materials/tuition.
Yes, I need to get to the exhibition!
Ive just been downstairs to look in our book ‘ the £1000 house’. This was an interwar book on house design for those who needed to build a house that could be run without a servant. We have this book because our house is based on one of the designs. I’d never looked at the architects names but yes - all men…… or what look like practices run by men - which makes it hard to know in the wrapper of a larger organisation if there were women behind them. The houses are all very practical in it and contain things like cupboards and sensible things like large pantries. Thank you for another extremely interesting article. Your work is so appreciated. And i still maintain you should self publish that womens stained glass book on Unbound. I am sure John Mitchison would help you. And backlisted is a fantastic podcast.
Thank you! I shall look into it.
It is so *tedious*, isn’t it, going through this process time and time again? The blanking of women. (How do the men [of course it’s nearly always men] do it, btw: *ignore* what’s in front of them, who’s standing right next to them? It must be deliberate, or is it deep cultural habit?) We may think this or that battle is won, but it really really isn’t. It seems that it never is. It has to be fought over and over again. Thank you for this, Jane, and more power to your elbow.
This particularly chimes with me at the moment. I’m studying eighteenth century literature and the beginnings of the novel. At the time there were a large number of women authors (and poets, actually). They were successful and respected and many of them made decent livings from writing. But since then, they’ve almost all been forgotten. Or rather - wilfully ignored, deleted, obscured. Dale Spender identified 100 successful women writers before Jane Austen. Most people - even people who read a lot - would struggle to name more than one or two, if that.
Fabulous newsletter Jane. Well, all your newsletters are fabulous but everything, including the love of Crittall windows really hit the spot this morning.
Thank you.
Jill
So, I can’t really add to the conversation about women in architecture - although my mother was a serious scientist, studying at UCL during WW2, good friend to Irene Franklin, sister of Rosalind of double helix discovery. Mum was always slightly frustrated at having been forced to give up chemical research work with Anglo Iranian, now BP, because she married a fellow worker - it was always the women who had to step back. She finally found her metier again when I (youngest of five) was 18 months old. The family story has it that she threw all the washing up into the sink and said ‘I can’t stand this anymore, I’m going back to work!’ And she then taught chemistry, very successfully, for nearly 30 years.
Separately I have to throw in an extraordinary Cachmille-Day connection! Before Jim did the exhibition about Almshouses he did an exhibition in our church about the architect and other churches he had built - the architect being one Nugent Cachemaille-Day!
All available in his website.
What a great story about your mother! And a great coincidence about NC-D interest - thank you.
I am probably going to buy the Interwar book for my son in law, who has been designing buildings for the best part of 20 years, but is only getting his architecture degree now. I buy him a lovely book on architecture at every gift giving occasion - mostly on Australian and NZ architecture, because we're in Melbourne.
However, when I hand it over, I will tell him exactly what is wrong with it (he will understand). It's a pity that I can't give him something that actually does reflect the whole picture, not just a blinkered old white male view.
The book covers a huge amount and is very good - but with this huge hole in the middle of it!
Well said, Jane. In my own field (patent attorneys) I see an echo of this bias, visible to the women but not the men.
Yet another thought provoking article… thank you, lots to discover and think about x
Happy Sunday
I work full time in the NHS and did a part time PhD (I am a mental health historian) and I knew my study was a history from the margins, but it took me a wee while longer to realise that pretty much everything except the history of powerful white men is marginal. Furthermore, to be marginal and visible is quite the triumph really, frankly it is exhausting. I love inter-war period architecture, just thinking about the Midland Hotel Morecambe soothes my soul, thank you for the links in your article will delve with interest.
Great post, Jane, and so much to explore here. Thanks for flagging my post on Gertrude Leverkus, part of my ongoing project to bring more attention to the contribution of women to business and commerce in the late 19th and early 20th century.
This is fascinating, Jane. Great to hear about these women architects. I've been fortunate enough to visit the Dora Cosens house on Wilberforce Road, but haven't managed to find much biographical information about her.
And that in itself says a great deal!
It certainly does, Jane. Which reminds me, Lizzie Broadbent was in touch suggesting a November get together in Cambridge. Would be great to meet you if that suits.
Yes, that would be great. Lizzie has contacted me and suggest we meet on the Sunday of the Cambridge Literary Festival in November.
Good! I will email her to confirm.
Really enjoyed this newsletter! I wonder if you've heard anything, directly or indirectly, from the author and publisher?
Great stack, thank you
And not to forget the unnamed women you contributed all the great “male” work and never got mentioned.
Thanks, Anna Marie! This has been shared with younger Brockets who found it very amusing.