Women, Work and the City - Guildhall Library Exhibition

Women’s work at the time of the Suffragettes

Alice Clark Image: The Women’s Library collection, LSE Library

The inspiration for this exhibition came from looking at the research that Alice Clark undertook just over a hundred years ago. Alice Clark’s research focused on women working in the seventeenth century. At the time of her research women were no longer able to join many of the guilds so discovering women had been able to do so in the past strengthened her views that women should have greater opportunities in the present.

Alice Clark was born in 1874 and was part of the Clark’s shoe family. She had an informal apprenticeship at the company’s factory, learning directly the working of the business. In 1904 she became one of the original five life directors of Clarks. She had a very practical interest in women’s work and had been influenced by the first wave of feminism.

In 1914 she was awarded the Charlotte Shaw Fellowship at the London School of Economics to research women’s history. She also had an interest in women’s suffrage from the 1890s.

In 1907 she attempted a non-violent form of militancy by refusing to pay taxes. She was part of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, joined the executive committee of the National Union in 1913 and became its assistant parliamentary secretary.

When World War One started, the Suffragettes put a halt to their militancy campaign in order to support the war effort.

To encourage patriotism a mass demonstration was organised by the WSPU to promote women’s war work and the government contributed £2000 to organise the march. Women were encouraged to take on jobs that directly contributed to the war effort and their success in these roles has often been cited as one of the biggest reasons women were given suffrage at the end of the war.

Images: Illustrated London News July 24 1915

WOMEN , WORK & THE CITY

Apprentices and Mistresses

People could be apprenticed from the age of 14 and although fewer girls were apprenticed than boys, they can be found in many of the guilds. A girl would learn a trade, though not always the trade of the guild to which she was apprenticed, and was then able to carry

on that trade after completing her apprenticeship and being made free of the guild.

In addition to becoming apprentices, women were able to take apprentices of their own. The number of women taking on apprentices

was three times that of the number of girls who became apprentices, and therefore at least two thirds of their apprentices were boys.

their husbands (sometimes in the wife’s trade instead of the husband’s), or as widows running their husband’s business after his death.

Women would take on apprentices as single women, as wives in partnership with

Image: Collage picture archive Ref 27663

WOMEN , WORK & THE CITY

Brewsters and the Brewers’ Company

The records of the Brewers’ Guild provide some of the earliest evidence we have of women in the London Guilds.

Brewing was an industry that originated with predominantly women workers. Brewsters, as they were known, would brew ale for their families and make extra to sell outside the home.

However, as brewing became industrialised and imports of beer increased, there were also larger profits to be made, and so its manufacture moved from being women’s work to men’s. The displaced women moved into other low skilled and low paid work, such as stocking knitting and lace

Image: London Metropolitan Archives, City of London, Ref CLC/L/BF/A/021/MS05440

making, instead. This meant that while industry changed and developed the type of work women did remained the same.

The Porlond manuscript was compiled between 1418 and 1438 by William Porlond, the clerk of the Brewers’ Company (Guild). It shows that a third of the membership were women either working independently or in partnership with a husband. Between 1418 to 1424 there were between 78 and 152 women who paid their company dues each year. However, while there are many women listed in the Guild, none of these women take on important roles in the company or participated in its governance. Nor were female members invited to the annual breakfast where guild decisions and votes took place.

So, whilst women were allowed to join the Guild they were denied many of the benefits that male members enjoyed.

Image: Collage picture archive Ref 27610

Women working within the City Guilds

In the early 18th century there are several examples of women taking on girls as apprentices.

Katherine Eyre was a wealthy widow in the Carpenter’s Guild who took several of her own girl apprentices between 1701 and 1707. The girls she took were mostly daughters of men from other guilds. In her will of 1709 she appointed her married daughter, Elizabeth Shaw as her executrix, and in 1712, when her son Francis died, Elizabeth was also granted whatever Kathryn was to receive from his estate.

Eleanor Seddon, daughter of Richard Seddon, of St Michael’s Crooked Lane, London, Mariner, was apprenticed to John Seddon, Citizen and Carpenter, for seven years, to learn the art of a Milliner, being his wife’s trade, on May 4th 1714.

Image: Katherine Nougle becoming an apprentice to Avice Wodeford to become a silk thrower in 1392 London Metropolitan Archives, City of London, Ref COL/CHD/AP/05/019

WOMEN , WORK & THE CITY

Fan Makers and Musicians

During the 18th century it was still often required that you be a member of a guild to carry out your trade within the City of London, although it didn’t have to be the guild of the trade you were practicing.

Esther Sleepe and her sister joined the Musician’s Guild through patrimony from their father, who was serving as warden.

After gaining their freedoms the two sisters each opened

their own fan shops. Esther immediately began taking her own female apprentices.

Although a Fan Makers Guild existed, the two sisters recognised that it was easier to join their father’s guild, even though it did not relate to their chosen trade. It is worth noting that whilst the sisters are listed in the minutes as obtaining their freedoms through patrimony, they are not included in the alphabetical list of Freeman.

Images: ©Trustees of the British Museum

WOMEN , WORK & THE CITY