NECESSARY WOMEN

On 2nd April 1911, the suffragette Emily Wilding Davison hid overnight in the Crypt Chapel in the Houses of Parliament. This dramatic protest was to record her presence there on census night as a woman in the male bastion of Parliament and to make a claim to equal rights with men. What she may not have known was that there were 67 other women resident in Parliament that night - housekeepers, kitchen maids, domestic servants, and wives and daughters living in households, from palatial dwellings within the Palace of Westminster to humble single-person rooms. This book is their story. From 'Jane', dispenser of beer, pies and chops in Bellamy's legendary refreshment rooms; Eliza Arscot who went from reigning as Principal Housemaid at the House of Lords to Hanwell Asylum; May Ashworth, Official Typist to Parliament for 30 years through marriage, war and divorce; and Jean Winder, the first female Hansard reporter who fought for years to be paid the same as her male counterparts. The authors uncover many women left out of the history books including Mary Jane Anderson, a previously unknown suffragette. Girl Messengers, cleaners and typists leap from the pages of this brilliantly well written and researched book. 288 pages, 20 integrated illustrations and eight colour plates.