WWW Virtual Library Women's History: United Kingdom

WWW Virtual Library
Women's History

Chez la Veuve: Women Printers in Great Britain 1475-1700 A brief introduction to the subject with pictures of books printed or sold by women. Online exhibition from the University of Illinois Library.

Archives and Libraries

Archif Menwyod Cymru / Women’s Archive of Wales Information about this organization which aims to promote the study, and to rescue and preserve the sources, of women's history in Wales. The collections, which are held in existing record offices in Wales, and the National Library of Wales, range from single items to large collections of documents, photographs, newsletters and other material.
Bear Ye One Another's Burdens: The Girls' Friendly Society 1875-2005 An online exhibition based on the archive of the Girls' Friendly Society (GFS), held at The Women's Library.
Feminist Archive (Bristol) The Feminist Archive (South) in Bristol, England, houses national and international material of the second wave of feminism (roughly 1960-2000). General information, an online newsletter and links to websites of other centers for women's studies in the U.K.
Feminist Archive North (FAN) The Feminist Archive North, in the Special Collections of the Leeds University Library, holds a wide variety of material relating to the Women’s Liberation Movement from 1969 to the present. Topics covered by FAN include the women’s peace movement, women’s studies, women and development, and violence against women. General information, lists of journal titles and dissertations held by FAN.
Genesis The Genesis project is a mapping initiative to identify and develop access to women's history sources in the British Isles. The database holds descriptions of women's history collections from libraries, archives and museums from around the British Isles. A list of web resources relating to the study of women's history, is also available.
Glasgow Women's Library An information centre housing a lending library, archive collections and contemporary and historical artefacts relating to women’s lives, histories and achievements. It is host to the Lesbian Archive & Information Centre General information.
Hall-Carpenter Archives The Hall-Carpenter Archives (HCA) founded in 1982 are the largest source for the study of gay activism in Britain which followed the publication of the Wolfenden Report in 1958. At the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Josephine Butler Collections at the University of Liverpool Information about the collections, a biographical sketch, a bibliography of Butler's works, links to related collections.
Kate Sharpley Library (London) Named in honour of Kate Sharpley, a First World War anarchist and anti-war activist, the Library was founded in South London in 1979 and reorganized in 1991. Its holdings include 10,000 English language books, pamphlets and periodicals on anarchism; a collection of posters, leaflets, manuscripts, letters, and internal records, including reports from the IWA (AIT/IAA), the Anarchist Federation of Britain (1945-1950), the Syndicalist Workers Federation (1950-1979), Cienfuegos Press, and ASP.
Lesbian Archive and Information Centre (LAIC, Glasgow) Set up in London in 1984 LAIC contains the UK's largest and most significant collection of materials about lesbian lives, activism and achievements. The Archive relocated to Glasgow Women's Library in 1995.
Primary Sources for Women's History in the University Library At the University of York Library
Sources for Women's Studies in the Methodist Archives Selected material deposited in the Methodist Archives and Research Centre (MARC) at the John Rylands University Library of Manchester. This women's studies specific information has disappeared from the website.
Special collections in the University of Huddersfield Archives The G. H. Wood collection: manuscript wages material, monographs, pamphlets, government reports and periodicals. The subjects covered include economic and social history, education, health, housing and women's history. There is also a valuable collection of pamphlets published by feminist organisations in the early twentieth century as well as a substantial set of Fabian Society material.
Studies in Scarlet: Marriage and Sexuality in the U.S. and U.K., 1815-1914 Studies in Scarlet presents the images of over 420 separately published trial narratives from the Harvard Law School Library's trial collections. Included are the adultery trial of Caroline, Queen Consort of George IV, the sodomy trial of Oscar Wilde. The larger part of the collection, however, consists of the stories of ordinary men and women.
UK Centre for the History of Nursing and Midwifery Information on archives and resources.
Votes for Women This digitized material represents a selection of the collections housed at the Women's Library at London Metropolitan University, and includes posters, photographs, postcards, badges, and other memorabilia relating to the British suffrage movement; brought online through the Visual Arts Data Service (VADS).
Women and Gender in early Modern Wales: A Guide to Sources and Further Reading A list of general reference works, guides to manuscript collections in and outside the National Library of Wales, and secondary literature on various aspects of early modern life, such as marriage, sexuality, the family, legal status, work, crime, witchcraft, religion, education, writing, masculinity. Compiled by Simone Clarke and Michael Roberts, at the Department of History and Welsh History, University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Women's Library (London, UK). The former Fawcett Library. The Women's Library is a new cultural centre, housing the most extensive collection of women's history in the UK.
Women's Services, First World War A Research Guide from the UK National Archives.
Working Class Movement Library Salford, England. The library has a number of significant collections on the history of working women including archives from the cooperative movement, the suffragettes and suffragists, women in the labour party and the feminist movement of the 1970s.

Research Institutions

Bedford Centre for the History of Women The Centre (Royal Holloway, University of London) organises lectures, seminars and conferences, and conducts and supports original research. It disseminates information about research being carried out world-wide in the field of women's history and the history of gender
Gender Institute of the London School for Economics General information, news, online working papers.
St. Hilda's College Oxford's only college solely for women.

Associations and Societies

Archif Menwyod Cymru / Women’s Archive of Wales Information about this organization which aims to promote the study, and to rescue and preserve the sources, of women's history in Wales. The collections, which are held in existing record offices in Wales, and the National Library of Wales, range from single items to large collections of documents, photographs, newsletters and other material.
British Historians of Women in the Americas Information from the History of Feminism Network
Feminist & Women's Studies Association FWSA (UK & Ireland) General information, newsletter, conferences.
Feminist and Women's Studies Association (UK & Ireland) General information, newsletter.
Gender and Medieval Studies Group (GMS) A UK-based organization devoted to putting together an annual interdisciplinary conference on the study of medieval gender.
History of Feminism Network A website "created by a collective of postgraduate students researching and/or passionate about the history of feminism": news, announcements, online debates.
Margaret Cavendish Society Website An international organization. The site contains current and past newsletters, contacts, information on joining the Society, images, conference details and links to bibliographies, books, e-text and related sites.
Scottish Women's History Network At Glasgow Caledonian University.
Society for the Social History of Medicine Journals tables of contents, conferences, seminars.
West of England & South Wales Women's History Network Continuation of the Southwest Women's History Network (UK)
Women's Committee of the Economic History Society The aim of the Committee is to encourage women to participate in all areas of economic and social history.
Women's History Network (UK) The WHN is an organisation of academics, teachers, women in libraries, independent and amateur historians, working to encourage research and writing in women's history. The WHN holds an annual conference, awards a prestigious essay prize each year, and reaches out to student and independent historians of women.
Women's History Scotland General information about this association and its activities, links to sources on women's history, resources for schools, online newsletter (MS Word files).

Chronological

Gender and Medieval Studies Group (GMS) A UK-based organization devoted to putting together an annual interdisciplinary conference on the study of medieval gender.
Margaret Cavendish Society Website An international organization. The site contains current and past newsletters, contacts, information on joining the Society, images, conference details and links to bibliographies, books, e-text and related sites.
Scottish Women's Bibliography A bibliography of women in Scottish history compiled by Prof. E. Ewan. Divided into broad time periods and including sections for Irish and Welsh women. At the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Special Topics

Ann Griffiths A website dedicated to the study of the life and work of the Welsh poet and hymn-writer, 1776-1805. It contains an introduction to her life and work, the text of her hymns and letters with English translations, and online access to digitised versions of a wide cross-section of printed and manuscript material; at Cardiff University.
Bear Ye One Another's Burdens: The Girls' Friendly Society 1875-2005 An online exhibition based on the archive of the Girls' Friendly Society (GFS), held at The Women's Library.
Glasgow Women's Library An information centre housing a lending library, archive collections and contemporary and historical artefacts relating to women’s lives, histories and achievements. It is host to the Lesbian Archive & Information Centre General information.
Hall-Carpenter Archives The Hall-Carpenter Archives (HCA) founded in 1982 are the largest source for the study of gay activism in Britain which followed the publication of the Wolfenden Report in 1958. At the London School of Economics and Political Science.
History of Women Religious A website created by members of the Historians of Women Religious of Britain and Ireland (H-WRBI) containing a calendar of events, bibliography, book reviews, a gallery of digitized images. At Royal Holloway, University of London.
Kate Sharpley Library (London) Named in honour of Kate Sharpley, a First World War anarchist and anti-war activist, the Library was founded in South London in 1979 and reorganized in 1991. Its holdings include 10,000 English language books, pamphlets and periodicals on anarchism; a collection of posters, leaflets, manuscripts, letters, and internal records, including reports from the IWA (AIT/IAA), the Anarchist Federation of Britain (1945-1950), the Syndicalist Workers Federation (1950-1979), Cienfuegos Press, and ASP.
Lesbian Archive and Information Centre (LAIC, Glasgow) Set up in London in 1984 LAIC contains the UK's largest and most significant collection of materials about lesbian lives, activism and achievements. The Archive relocated to Glasgow Women's Library in 1995.
Margaret Cavendish Society Website An international organization. The site contains current and past newsletters, contacts, information on joining the Society, images, conference details and links to bibliographies, books, e-text and related sites.
Studies in Scarlet: Marriage and Sexuality in the U.S. and U.K., 1815-1914 Studies in Scarlet presents the images of over 420 separately published trial narratives from the Harvard Law School Library's trial collections. Included are the adultery trial of Caroline, Queen Consort of George IV, the sodomy trial of Oscar Wilde. The larger part of the collection, however, consists of the stories of ordinary men and women.
UK Centre for the History of Nursing and Midwifery Information on archives and resources.
Winning Equal Pay: the value of women's work A partnership initiative between London Metropolitan University and the Trades Union Congress to record the long campaign to achieve equal pay for women. This interactive website will show filmed interviews with women who fought for equal pay, digitised images and documents, plus contributions from historians and other experts.
Women's Services, First World War A Research Guide from the UK National Archives.
Working Class Movement Library Salford, England. The library has a number of significant collections on the history of working women including archives from the cooperative movement, the suffragettes and suffragists, women in the labour party and the feminist movement of the 1970s.

Discussion Lists

History of Feminism Network A website "created by a collective of postgraduate students researching and/or passionate about the history of feminism": news, announcements, online debates.

Journals

HerStoria A new women’s history magazine. The accompanying website Discover Women's History Web "will give you a flavour of the articles you'll find in HerStoria magazine."
n.paradoxa n.paradoxa publishes scholarly and critical articles highlighting feminist art and feminist art theory written by women critics, art historians and artists on and in relation to the work of contemporary women artists post-1970 (visual arts only) working anywhere in the world.

Reference

Early Modern Resources created by Sharon Howard.
Genesis The Genesis project is a mapping initiative to identify and develop access to women's history sources in the British Isles. The database holds descriptions of women's history collections from libraries, archives and museums from around the British Isles. A list of web resources relating to the study of women's history, is also available.

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Last updated 11 February 2013