Records of Lincolnshire Women's Research Group

The archive consists of life history material collected by the research group (letters, interviews, transcripts and photographs) and drafts for a proposed book on Lincolnshire women's history, covering: the Second World War, work, home-life, food and drink, leisure, entertainment, fashion, education, health care.

This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.

The Lincolnshire Women's Research Group (1985-1986) began as a Workers Educational Association class in 1985 in which women members were encouraged to examine their own experiences and those of their contemporaries in the county of Lincolnshire. The Group studied novels and short stories and then decided to interview local women with a view to the possibility of compiling a book about women's lives in Lincolnshire from the 1930s to the 1950s. After the course, the original class members continued with the project and produced an exhibition in the summer of 1986. Contributions were also made as a result of a Women's Institute essay competition on the subject of women's memories of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s in Lincolnshire. Material was gathered from these essays, interviews with local women, local newspapers and archives in the following areas: health and childcare; waged and war work; sex and superstition; food and drink; education; family life and childhood memories; fashion; and leisure and entertainment.