Sue Blundell and Nick Bailey will discuss Fitzrovia and the forming of the modern working woman in this free lunchtime talk, the first in a series of free lunchtime talks on the Women of Fitzrovia.
This summer Sue Blundell, with the assistance of Nick Bailey, will be giving a series of three talks on the women – some famous, some anonymous – who have featured in the history of Fitzrovia.
Working Women, 1850 to 1950
In the second half of the nineteenth century technological and social changes were responsible for bringing a huge number of women into the labour market. Fitzrovia and its environs provided employment for both working class and middle class women as telephonists, typists, seamstresses, shop assistants, waitresses, and of course health care workers, including Britain’s most famous campaigner for birth control, Marie Stopes.
As well as moral concerns these changes created a need for housing and for places to eat; so women-only hostels and restaurants sprang up in the area. Alongside them there were a number of women entrepreneurs, furnishing the new female denizens of Fitzrovia with everything from divided skirts to ice-creams.
The Fitzrovia Chapel is wheelchair accessible. For accessibility needs, please contact freya@fitzroviachapel.org
ABOUT
Sue Blundell has lived in Fitzrovia since 1975. Before her retirement she taught Classical Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London, and for the Open University, specialising in the history of women in the Greek and Roman worlds. Recently she has been turning to her own neighbourhood in her pursuit of real-life and remarkable women.
Nick Bailey taught for many years in the Faculty of Architecture and Cities at the University of Westminster and is the Emeritus Professor of Urban Regeneration. He is a long-term resident of Fitzrovia and has written extensively on its history and urban development. He is actively involved in several local community organisations.
VENUE HIRE
Accessability
Outside the Chapel, there are two steps, which have a built-in wheelchair lift. The Chapel is wheelchair accessible. The majority is on one level, and there is a ramp that can be used to access the chancel (altar area). We have a fully accessible toilet. View more accessibility information
