Grace Aguilar (Hackney 1816 - Frankfurt 1847) was an Anglo-Jewish scholar, author, religious reformer, educator and poet who, in her short life, became one of the most prolific women writers, and “the most prominent spokesperson for English Jews” (Galchinsky 1997, 27) in Victorian London. Several of her publications sold as many as Dickens’ and were still republished many years after her death. Her History of the Jews in England (1847) published anonymously was the first such history published by an Anglo-Jewish author. Her historical romances and domestic novels, many of them published by he ..read more

‘To me has fallen the happy task of sharing their gifts among our people. There is nothing so embarrassing as wearing as an ill-fitting halo—but a life one would not change for any other.’  Clara Ellen Grant OBE 1867-1949 Clara Grant, social education activist. c. 1920 Born in Wiltshire to a reasonably well-off family, Clara Ellen Grant was a pioneer of infant children's education. A social reformer, she set up the Fern Street Settlement in 1907 to feed and clothe poor and hungry children in the East End of London. She dedicated her life to tackling child poverty. While her farthing bund ..read more

As part of Newham Heritage Month, earlier in the year, I took part in researching women’s stories in Newham. Being born in the borough this was of particular interest to me, and I was excited to hear about Betty May -  a woman nicknamed ‘Tiger Woman’ who had lived in the first half of the 20th century and whose story had “thrilled and appalled the public”. She sounded like my kind of woman! ‘Betty May’ Much of what we know about Betty May is self-reported in an autobiography written originally to be serialised in a weekly newspaper. The story starts with Betty May, born Elizabeth Goldi ..read more

Prison reformer, social reformer, abolitionist, philanthropist “No person will deny the importance attached to the character and conduct of a woman, in all her domestic and social relations, when she is filling the station of a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, or a mistress of a family. But it is a dangerous error to suppose that the duties of females end here.” - Fry, Elizabeth, quoted in Observations on the Visiting, Superintendence, and Government of Female Prisoners 1827 You may recognise Elizabeth Fry from the old £5 notes (2002-2016). Fry lived in the East End areas of East Ham and ..read more

For centuries the word ‘asylum’ has inspired images of a towering Victorian edifice crowded with unfortunate souls (mainly women) deemed unfit to participate in society due to myriad reasons of mental health problems, disability, or in some cases, merely dissension from societal rules. However, The Invalid Asylum for Respectable Females was not one such institution.  Mary Lister (1766-1847) was an active Quaker who is most commonly referred to, if at all, as the aunt of famous surgeon and pioneer of antiseptic surgery, Joseph Lister (1827-1912). However, within the locality of Stoke Newin ..read more

For the third edition of #WomensHistoryonMyWalk, museum volunteer Charlotte Elliston uncovers stories of local women’s history from Hackney and Tower Hamlets. When I wrote the first two blog posts about the women’s history I had discovered during my lockdown walks, I thought I had found all of the interesting stories in my local area to write about; but here we are in the third UK lockdown and I am still finding sites and stories I had no idea about. So in my 3rd post in my #WomensHistoryOnMyWalk series, here are some more women’s history gems from Hackney and Tower Hamlets. 1. The Columbia Ro ..read more

Sarah Taylor explores the history of queer activism in East London through an examination of lesbian housing squats in London Fields during the 1970s. Hackney: Broadway Market (c) Dr Neil Clifton (via Wikimedia) Broadway Market Walking down Broadway Market, an East London street winding from London Fields to Regent’s Canal, it is hard to imagine that it was once the home to anti-capitalist and LGBT activism, protests, demonstrations and squatting. Nowadays, Broadway Market, described as a “bustling hub for the Hackney hipsters”, contains an array of coffee stands, expensive restaurants, bouti ..read more

Madge Gill (1882-1961), was an artist who lived much of her life in East London. From a working-class background, neither Gill nor her art fit into the artistic mainstream of her time.  In fact, she did not even believe that her works were her own, believing that a ‘spirit guide’ named Myrninerest was working through her. Gill’s artistic output was prodigious, and after her death, her son Laurie donated between 1,200 and 2,000 works to the London Borough of Newham (then East Ham Borough Council). Gill exhibited frequently during her lifetime, although not with the aim of selling works. He ..read more

“Mrs McCheyne and Mrs Mantle have carried on in the most splendid way, the work of our Bromley Office and Baby Clinic at 53 St. Leonard Street, ever since these were started. Now we regret to announce that Mrs McCheyne is compelled to relinquish her work there as she is obliged to leave the district. All the ELFS’ members know Mrs McCheyne, for she was one of our first recruits in East London, and has always been one of our hardest workers, having served on the ELFS Social Committees and in many other ways as well as Joint Honorary Secretary in Bromley. We all thank her and hope that we shall ..read more

As we develop the East End Women’s Museum it is important to reflect on the work done by early pioneers that gave women a voice in museums. One such figure is Kate Hall, the first female museum curator in England. Not only did she represent women gaining employment in the sector, but she helped launch museum education in the East End. Museums were, and arguably still are, seen as places for the middle classes, to be used as cultural capital rather than community enrichment. However, museums were eventually brought into the poorer districts of London and Kate Hall was one woman at the front lin ..read more