Nautical women – women sailors and the women of sailortowns

Portishead Library, 24 Harbour Road, Portishead, BS20 7AL

For more details and booking, see here.

North Somerset Libraries are excited to host a series of talks by Bristol Radical History pamphleteers. Visit www.brh.org.uk to find out more about their publications and events. The talks are informal and accessible and would appeal to adults and older teens. The library will be open and there will time to borrow books from our local history display, so bring your library card with you. If you don’t have one, it is easy to join with some ID with your address on. Some Bristol Radical History pamphlets will also be available to purchase with cash.

In our third talk, Rosemary Caldicott brings to life Pamphlet number 43 which will be of particular interest to locals.

The book explores the stories of women whose lives were inextricably linked to the sea. These include the women of sailortowns struggling to keep out of the dreaded workhouse and resisting the prowling press gangs; and of the courageous and skilful cross-dressing women sailors, some of Bristol, who went to extraordinary lengths to hide their gender. The stories of these women challenge our stereotypes of women in earlier societies and reveal the courage of those who ‘ran away to sea’ by exposing their struggles against poverty. Rosemary will discuss these women’s motivation as well as their adventures and inevitable exposure.