Blue Plaque Project receives cash to profile pioneering women of history

Pioneering women who founded Wakefield's first school for the blind in a new project by Dream Time Creative CIC and Wakefield District Sight Aid.

Transcript

00:00More women of history now have blue plaques thanks to a Yorkshire based

00:05community project which has just received even more funding to continue

00:11their work and make it more accessible.

00:15It's Sarah here from Dreamtime Creative and the Forgotten Women of Wakefield

00:21National Blue Plaque Parity Campaign Group and the news is that we have just

00:28been awarded six and a half thousand pounds from Historic England's National

00:35Blue Plaque Scheme. This is essentially to work with the local community groups

00:42most specifically the Wakefield District Blind Society and other researchers to

00:49look into the lives of two incredible women from Wakefield. Edith Wright and

00:54Emily Esther Fennell and if you recognise the name Fennell you're right

00:59Emily Esther was indeed the sister of Louisa Fennell our famous Wakefield

01:06watercolourist. So these two women or Emily particularly in the early days

01:12from as early as 1869 established Wakefield's very first Blind Society.

01:20Edith joined her from about 1901 and between them they were real advocates

01:27for disability and they flew in the face of what was considered the normal

01:33practice of working with or dealing with people with impaired sight. Up until they

01:39got involved it was seen normal as to impose what was right or what was

01:47acceptable for people with impaired sight to do how they engaged with

01:52community and society but once Emily and Esther got involved it became very much

01:58a case of the blind leading the blind and them taking decisions which directly

02:05affected their own well-being and their own welfare especially with regards

02:09being able to contribute to a society in which they lived with regards work

02:14creativity and spirituality and basket making most particularly. Anyway our

02:25project is designed to research these women so that in May next year we can

02:30submit a file that hopefully Historic England will accept which will enable

02:38these women to have a blue plaque as part of Historic England's National Blue

02:44Plaque Scheme. This is incredible validation for the work that we've done

02:48there are 36 names now of women on blue plaques across not just Wakefield but

02:54some of the surrounding districts as well all inspired by the simple question

02:59where are the women on blue plaques? So thanks to Historic England and thanks to

03:06everybody that's joining us for research and creative responses. Over the next six

03:12or seven months we're absolutely delighted to be part of this national

03:16campaign to get more women on blue plaques. See you soon!