As the Brighton Fringe enters its final fortnight I’ve scheduled some extra Fearless and Fabulous Walks. Join me for an hour and three quarters of gentle ambling as we explore the streets and alleyways trodden by some of the city’s most incredible women from the past. Like cross-dressing music hall star and performer (as well as some time Hove resident) Vesta Tilley (below)
Meet at the Garden Cafe in St Ann’s Well Gardens, Hove BN3 1PL on Saturday 24th (waiting list only), Saturday 31st and Thursday 29th at 10am. Strong tip – arrive with plenty of time to grab yourself a coffee at the fantastic café itself. No finer place to sit on a fine morning in Hove.
Fearless and Fabulous Women of Brighton
Meet outside St Nicholas Church in the Churchyard itself. Sunday May 25th at 10am (waiting list only) AND 1.30pm on the same day. Sunday 1st June at 10am AND 1.30pm. Tuesday 27th May at 6pm (waiting list only)
Fearless and Fabulous Women of Kemptown.
I’ve promised several people the Kemptown version in June or early July. Watch this space!
Fabulous tales (and possibly a bit of rain, but we don’t mind that, do we?) await!
This week I was invited onto Brighton and Hove community radio station Radio Reverb to chat to Melita Dennett on the Tuesday Live in Brighton with Melita Dennett show.
It was a great opportunity to spread the word about my Fearless and Fabulous Women Fringe walks and we ended up talking about where I found the stories of the women I talk about (mainly from flaneuring around the shelves of The Keep Local History Centre and allowing my eye to be caught wantonly by bits and pieces. Which is, incidentally, how I came up with this gem of women’s history:
I mean, a seaweed florist, what’s not to love?) Also, people tell me things. Just the other day, someone asked me if I’d heard of Gertrude Leverkus who used to live in Wilbury Villas. To my shame I hadn’t.
Very, very briefly (hopefully more to follow in a future post) Gertrude (1898 – 1989) was a pioneering German-British architect who was involved in converting properties into flats for women in the 1920s for the Women’s Pioneer Housing Limited. In 1931 she was elected a Fellow of RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) and was only the second woman allowed to put the initials ‘FRIBA’ after her name. She later worked on the new towns of Crawley and Harlow. I love how links are sometimes thrown up between the women I talk about and I see that Gertrude was involved in the Women’s Provisional Club – a kind of support network for professional women – alongside Brighton’s first female GP and one of my absolute heroes, Dr Louisa Martindale.
Another woman I learnt about in this very same conversation was Elizabeth M Kennedy (1873 – 1957) who became president of the Women’s Engineering Society in 1932 after a distinguished career in the world of machinery manufacturing. In later life she lived in Marine Parade, Brighton.
Melita asked me whether it was easier to find out the stories of women from well-to-do backgrounds. Sadly, this is usually the case. Someone has to write history and the history we have and know is always a collection of stories collated, curated and told by someone or a group of someones, often with an agenda. Until relatively recently, these someones are usually straight, white, moneyed men.
Also, don’t people need time, leisure and connections to make their voices heard?
I did mention that here in Brighton, however, we do have the well-known Martha Gunn.
Martha Gunn,Brighton bather. Oil painting, British School, c1790
I absolutely love this picture, today hanging just outside the Local History Gallery in Brighton Museum.
Martha (1726 – 1815) was very much not born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Yet, by her efforts, good ideas and business acumen, she became ‘Queen of the Dippers’, a bathing assistant who dipped women into the sea for their sea-water cure, so successful and coveted she became a sort of emblem of the burgeoning town of Brighton, attracting visitors from far and wide and putting Brighton on the map. Rightfully known today as one of the architects of modern Brighton.
We also have:
Phoebe Hessel (1713 – 1821 – yes, I know, that made her 108). Famously, Phoebe had a long military career, disguised as a man, fighting with the 5th Regiment of Foot, until an unfortunate bayonet wound picked up at the Battle of Fontenoy, led to her being discovered (I’ve written a longer post about Phoebe. Scroll down if you’re interested).
I went on to chat to Melita about how, when you hear the story of a successful man, it’s always worth snooping around to find out who their mother/wife/sister was as there are often some interesting stories there, with women’s contribution/help/good ideas being overshadowed or written out of the official version of events. For example, a woman I talk about in my Hove walk right at the start in St Ann’s Well Gardens is Laura Bayley:
Laura (1862 – 1938) who used to live near Seven Dials, was an accomplished actress, usually working in burlesques and pantomimes. She married Hove film pioneer, George Albert Smith, a huge name in early film, who experimented with techniques such as close-ups and, from the studio he converted from the old pump room in St Ann’s Well Gardens, made landmark early short films. As his wife, Laura played roles in many of them. It’s now believed she also co-produced several. After watching her performances in films such as ‘The Kiss in the Tunnel’ and ‘Mary Jane’s Mishap’ (available on YouTube) it’s clear, however, that her contribution as a comedy actress, her expertise in holding an audience’s attention, and her great charisma are key to the success of the films. Would George Albert Smith now be the great name in early film he is today without Laura’s incredible work? It’s now understood that Laura, so long in the shadow of her husband, directed and wrote films, too. I recommend you take a look at her work. You’ll be spellbound. Laura is also featured in Hove Museum’s cinema gallery.
My interview with Melita is available on line here:
BTW, the non-profit station Radio Reverb is well worth a listen. They have some great shows, speech, music and both, that bring in the whole community – football, Refugee Radio, Brighton Book Club, and more. One I’m really looking forward to listening to later is ‘Currently Off Air’ ‘a mixtape of overlooked, under appreciated, and rediscovered sounds – on the first Sunday of the month at 11pm – midnight. Lots of great music shows too.
So… finally getting to the point of this post at last… My Fearless and Fabulous Women walks for the Brighton Fringe start on Saturday 4th May, beginning with a fully accessible and mainly level stroll around Hove, starting at 10am outside the brilliant Garden Cafe (come early and enjoy one of their brilliant coffees and a cake) in St Ann’s Well Gardens, Hove, BN3 1PR
If full please contact me on historywomenbrighton@outlook.com
See some of you there!
I’d like to say thanks to Melita Dennett and also to Ceryl Evans of the Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton for the chat about Gertrude Leverkus and Elizabeth M Kennedy
This year I’m re-entering the Brighton Fringe fray with two women’s history walks – The Fearless and Fabulous Women of Brighton and The Fearless and Fabulous Women of Hove.
“From some of Brighton’s first women doctors to suffragettes, entrepreneurs to entertainers, artists, music-hall stars, and campaigners, Brighton & Hove has always attracted women who dare do things differently. Join Louise Peskett, author of The Fearless and the Fabulous, a Journey through Brighton and Hove’s Women’s History on these easy walks to discover the amazing stories of some of the intriguing, adventurous, fantastic, outrageous and scandalously lttle-known female characters of the city’s past.
If fully booked or you’re booking last minute you can contact me on historywomenbrighton@outlook.com to find out whether there are any spaces for walk-ups.
Dates and times, when and where…
Fearless and Fabulous Women of Brighton
Meet St Nicholas Churchyard, central Brighton – Church Street, BN1 3LI
Sunday mornings at 10am on May 5th, May 12th, May 26th and June 2nd.
Thursday evenings at 6pm on May 9th and May 30th
Please note this isn’t a circular walk. It will finish either in the Lanes or on New Road/Pavilion Gardens. If it’s Sunday morning I recommend stopping for a coffee and a rest in the beautiful Pavilion Gardens cafe afterwards. Lots of other establishments close by.
Fearless and Fabulous Women of Hove
Meet at the Garden Cafe, St Ann’s Well Gardens, Somerhill Road, Hove BN3 1RP
Saturday morning at 10am on May 4th, May 11th, May 25th and June 1st
Tuesday evening at 6pm May 14th
Thursday evening at 6pm May 23rd.
Dogs welcome! Babies welcome! Pushchairs welcome! All welcome!
I recommend buying a coffee from the Garden Cafe beforehand if you come on Saturday morning. It’s a lovely place to sit. Or buy one to bring with you.
Please note this isn’t a circular tour. We will finish in Palmeira Square. Plenty of cafes or pubs around there for snacks and a rest.
Need any more information? Contact me on historyywomenbrighton@outlook.com
From some of Britain’s first women doctors to suffragettes, entrepreneurs to entertainers, artists, music-hall stars, and campaigners, Brighton and Hove has always attracted women who dare do things differently. Join Louise Peskett, author of The Fearless and the Fabulous, a Journey through Brighton and Hove’s Women’s History, on these easy walks to discover the amazing stories of some of the intriguing, adventurous, fantastic, outrageous, and scandalously little known female characters of the city’s past. All tours last approx 1 hour, 45 minutes.
May 2022 dates as part of the Brighton Fringe
Fearless and Fabulous Women Women of Brighton
Starts – outside St Nicholas Church, Dyke Road, Brighton, BN1 3LJ
Sunday mornings 8th, 22nd 29t May, and 5th June at 10.00am
Tuesday evenings 10th, 24th May at 6.00pm.
Fearless and Fabulous Women of Hove
Starts – The Garden Café, St Ann’s Well Gardens, Hove, BN3 1PL
Saturday mornings 7th, 21st, 28th May and 4th June at 10.00am
Thursday evening 19th May at 6.00pm
Tuesday evening 2nd June at 6.00pm
Fearless and Fabulous Women of Kemptown
Pop up tours to be confirmed. Please email or call for details.
See The Fearless and Fabulous: A Journey Through Brighton and Hove’s Women’s History by Louise Peskett. For sale at City Books and in the Royal Pavilion and Museum shops. Or contact Louise at the email address above.
So if you take a seat in the Pit Stalls, ladies, you won’t have to remove your bonnet! This is from the programme of a Theatre Royal, Brighton production in 1888.
It had not been long under the stewardship of ‘Proprietess, Ellen Nye Chart’ (1839 – 92). Despite being a widow and a single mother Ellen managed to turn a £6,000 debt into a £38,000 asset and make sure that Brighton would be forever on the country’s theatrical map when she became manager.
Ellen was born a builder’s daughter in Islington. Arriving in Brighton as an actress with a gig at the theatre she ended up marrying the actor-manager Henry Nye Chart. When he died not long afterwards she decided she wouldn’t retire into the shadows as was often the custom for widows but take the theatre by the reins. Her creativity and good business sense are legendary. She made the theatre more accessible, introduced a wider variety of productions and performers, inaugurated the annual pantomime (to which the inmates of Brighton Workhouse were invited to attend for free) and instigated ‘flying matinees’ where the hits of the London stage decamped to Brighton in the morning to put on a matinee performance before getting the evening train back to London. Ellen Nye Chart made sure Brighton would always be on the country’s theatrical map. She’s just one of the many women I’ll be talking about on Friday 8th February at the Dome, Brighton. Also expect to hear about some music-hall legends, early comediennes, divas of early film, drag artists, and iconic soap actresses. See below…
Very short notice but I’m doing a talk this afternoon at 3pm in the Duke of York’s cinema, Preston Circus on some of the women in the past who disguised themselves as men to get round the ban on women serving in the military. Above is Hannah Snell (1723 – 1792l), soldier and pub landlady, who served in the Battle of Pondicherry, and at one point, ended up removing a bullet from her own groin in secret rather than ask for medical attention and reveal that she was a woman. I’ll also be talking about fearless, Irish-born Margaret Bulkley, aka Dr James Barry, who managed, in disguise, to storm two male bastions in one go, qualifying as a doctor at the University of Edinburgh, and then getting a job as an army surgeon. Dr Barry had a successful career all over the world. In South Africa she performed the world’s first successful caesarean that didn’t end up with the death of mother or baby. She was one of the first doctors to use anaesthetics, stood up for slaves, was vegetarian, managed an outbreak of cholera in Malta, managed to annoy Florence Nightingale, was thanked by the Duke of Wellington and successfully kept her disguise until she died. I’ll be talking about these and other daring, sometimes sad, but always swashbuckling stories of other women soldiers (including local heroine, Phoebe Hessel) this afternoon.
Dr Barry is on the left. She’s accompanied by her friend, John, whom she met in Jamaica.
Part of the @AgeingWellFestival in Brighton for 50+. Tickets 01273 322940.
This Autumn I will be doing six events for the Brighton Ageing Well Festival (previously known as the Brighton Older People’s Festival). The Festival, which is about to start on 30th September and runs until 13th October, describes itself on its website as ‘a two week extravaganza packed full of events for you to get to, highlighting the activities going on in our city all year round.’ Talks, walks and other activities aimed at ages 50+.
My events include three gentle 90 minute walks:
‘‘Notorious Women of Hove” on Wednesday 2nd October, starting at 11 from the Garden Café in St Ann’s Well Gardens, Hove.
“Notorious Women of Brighton” on Sunday 6th October, starting at 11 from St Nicholas Church, Dyke Road, Brighton.
And “Notorious Women of Kemptown” on Sunday 13th October, starting at 11 from St George’s Church, St George’s Road, Kemptown.
I’ll also be doing three 60 minute illustrated talks in the café-bar at the Duke of York’s Picturehouse Cinema, Preston Road, Brighton. All start at 3pm. These are:
Thursday 3rd October – “Entertaining Women” – a look at some of the brilliant women from our city who have found fame in the worlds of theatre, music-hall, cabaret, film, TV, soap opera, and music.
Tuesday 8th October, “Pioneering Women Doctors of Brighton and Hove” – a look at some of the early women doctors who came to practise in the city from the 1890s.
Thursday 10th October – “Women Warriors” – a look at Brighton’s Phoebe Hessel and some of the women, like her, who disguised themselves as men and managed to have a military career years before women were allowed to join the army.
So the flyer says ‘notorious’, but the women of Kemptown are pretty wonderful too. The first British woman to swim the Channel, the first (and, surely, the only) woman to be awarded a blue plaque for services to witchcraft, a woman who changed the way we shop and one of Britain’s top female novelists who managed to be a rip-roaring success without ever giving an interview, what’s not to love? On Saturday morning 20th July and Tuesday evening 6th August, I’ll be holding guided walks around this lovely area, looking at the buildings and streets with links to these woman and more. Both walks fully accessible and lasting around 90 minutes. Start point outside St George’s Church, 93 St George’s Road, Brighton, BN2 1ED (below). We’ll wind things down on Lewes Crescent. Cost £8/£7 per person.
More details:
Saturday 20th July, 10.30 a.m
Tuesday 6th August 6.30 p.m
If you’re interested in joining me email me at historywomenbrighton@outlook.com or call 07758 296563
Get in touch with Brighton and Hove’s feminine side on a walking tour with Royal Pavilion and Museums guide, Louise Peskett. Discover an alternative view of the city illustrated by the stories of the incredible, outrageous, and brilliant women of its past.
Join me on a gentle 90 minute walk:
History Women Brighton – Women soldiers, music-hall stars and rebellious princesses come alive on this stroll from central Brighton’s oldest church through the Lanes, Pavilion Gardens and Brighton’s Cultural Quarter, finishing at the Theatre Royal.
History Women Hove – Starting in central Hove’s St Ann’s Well Gardens and proceeding through the area’s grandest squares to the seafront, this walk follows the footsteps of some of Britain’s first women doctors, suffragettes, social campaigners and artists, and takes in a pioneering women’s hospital and game-changing girls’ school.
History Women Kemptown – Hear how worlds as diverse as policing, fashion, education, and corsets were influenced by women who once lived in this atmospheric and historic suburb of Brighton! Starts at St George’s Church.
Victorian Working Class Brighton – During the nineteenth century the Queen’s Park/Hanover area developed as a vibrant and lively working-class district. Join me to discover traces of these long-gone communities in old shops, pubs, slipper-baths, the work-house, and school. Starts at St Luke’s Church.
The Royal Pavilion Estate – A visit inside the Royal Pavilion is a Brighton ‘must-do’ but what about the outside? This hour’s walk around the Royal Pavilion Gardens and surrounds explores the creation of this beautiful green space, the history of the Gardens, its adjoining gates and buildings, and its First World War legacy.
No group too small. Too long? Too short? Let me tailor a walk to your requirements.
All walks available in French. TEFL trained, I am experienced in guiding in simple English to language students and people without fluent English. All levels catered for. Language students welcome!
Don’t want to walk? I offer the above walks – and more – as seated, illustrated lectures. Let me visit your group and enjoy the stories from the comfort of a chair. Full list on my website www.historywomenbrighton.com.
All walks will go ahead at pre-set times during the Brighton Fringe in May 2017 as usual and, hopefully, if the weather forecast looks good, in Spring. Check here or drop me an email if you’d like to be on my mailing list. See you soon!
historywomenbrighton 