S for Suffragistes and Suffragettes
The Women’s Library at LSE Library
The real fight for women’s suffrage was tougher, messier, more inventive and far more wide-ranging than the popular version suggests. And it certainly wasn’t the work of one woman, one organisation, or one tactic.
This walk, created and guided by Isobel, takes you beyond the myths and into the lived reality of the campaign. It begins early. In 1832, Mary Smith presented the first petition by a woman demanding the vote to Parliament. She pointed out, perfectly reasonably, that she paid taxes, obeyed the law and saw no reason why she should not have a say. The Commons laughed it out.
What followed was nearly a century of organised pressure. Women’s suffrage organisations multiplied throughout the nineteenth century, with the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies becoming the largest and most influential, boasting more than 100,000 members by the outbreak of the First World War. Its president, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, played the decisive role in securing the vote for some women in 1918 and in the final victory of 1928, when all women over 21 gained the franchise.
The Women’s Social and Political Union, dubbed “Suffragettes” by the Daily Mail and led by Emmeline Pankhurst, is the best remembered, though it was always a minority organisation and disbanded in 1917. Its visibility has tended to eclipse the many other women and groups whose persistence, strategy and sheer stamina carried the campaign over the line.
Along the way, Suffragists and Suffragettes used tactics that were imaginative, courageous and sometimes shocking: evading the census by skating through the night, dropping leaflets from hot air balloons, marching through torrential rain, smashing plate glass windows with toffee hammers, enduring prison and force-feeding.
This walk brings those stories back into balance. It restores overlooked heroines to centre stage, explains why certain myths took hold, and shows how a broad, determined movement transformed women from political outsiders into citizens.
History lost, found and decoded. And a reminder that being “bloody difficult” has a proud and world-changing pedigree.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING
Created and guided by Isobel, S for Suffragistes and Suffragettes looks at significant individuals, places, and actions which contributed to women finally gaining the right to vote, as well as contemporary feminist activists.
HISTORY LOST, FOUND & DECODED
You name it, they did it…
And let the world know about it
Jem Bowen –
What a fantastic guided walk!
We went on this brilliant walk this morning about the women’s suffrage movement.
Isobel is a wonderful guide, and brings this fascinating time to life, walking in the steps of these remarkable women who changed our world, through the actual places where history was made.
A brilliant experience! Thank you!
Philippa Bowen –
Really lovely walk with Isabel today who was a wonderful guide! I “do” History and its such a joy to have a guide who really knows her subject, is enthusiastic and is such a very nice person! We walked around Westminster and Whitehall and saw such interesting places I had no idea were there and so Im really looking forward to more walks with her on other subjects.
Meirav –
Great walk.isobel is full of knowledge to share. Great atmosphere. Great fun.
Joan Love –
Isobel was a great guide, managing to balance factual information with humour, we thoroughly enjoyed this interesting walk.
Terri chandler –
Fantastic walk. Isobel was engaging and full of facts. Totally enlightening, I had no idea of the differences between the activists. Will definitely look out for more walks hosted by Isobel.
Terri Chandler –
I did this walk with Isobel on Sunday. It was excellent totally enlightening and informative and, great fun. Will be looking out for other walks with her.
Jane Anderson –
I really enjoyed this walk. Isobel conveyed the information about suffragettes and suffragists in a compelling, fun and memorable way. I loved walking in their steps. Another great walk from London Walks!
p –
fantastic. loved the tour. Amazing guide, plenty of info delivered in a way that it’s actually memorable. Am looking out for more of Isobel’s tours
Sally Jarman –
We really enjoyed Isobel’s walk-and-talk about the Suffragettes. Many interesting stories, all very well told, plus a reminder that we, ‘the weaker sex’ have so much to be grateful for in 2025 in the UK. Our ancestors did a great job in making ours a more equal society. I also met some interesting fellow walkers on Sunday, with their own interesting stories to tell.
John Beasley –
Isobel manages to inform and entertain during an interesting and fact filled walk.
As a group, we all enjoyed a few lighter moments that made it an enjoyable afternoon.
I can highly recommend this walk.
Thank you Isobel.