2018 marks the centenary of a key victory in the struggle for suffrage which gave some women the right to vote. At Cragside and Gibside, we’re exploring the stories of women through exhibitions and art. We're also celebrating the women around the region who have made a real impact on the places we love and care for.
In 2018, the centenary of some women gaining the vote, Cragside is celebrating the achievements women have made in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) over the last 100 years with two brand new exhibitions.
The fascinating story of Mary Eleanor Bowes is being told through contemporary art at Gibside this summer, with two installations by Fiona Curran and Andrew Burton celebrating her life and love of botany. As the richest heiress in Georgian times, she triumphed in a divorce case against her abusive husband and paved the way for the reform of English divorce and custody laws.
Arts and Crafts garden designer, writer and artist Gertrude Jekyll created this small walled garden in 1911 alongside English architect Edwin Lutyens: it still creates wonderful colour and scent every year, so a must see when visiting the castle which re-opens from Sunday 1 April.
The First World War saw many women having to step into the shoes of men who had gone to fight. In the industrial North East where women worked hard and played hard, Souter Lighthouse will be exploring how they spent their leisure time.
