Useful Women’s History Websites
The following sites have been chosen because they contain reliable information and are
very visual, with minimal advertising.
(Women’s History Month does not endorse or make any representations about the
content or any products or services available on the following websites).
General Women’s History Sites
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
National Archives site. Lesson plans on:
Britain 1906-18 – Early 1900’s Women’s Suffrage / Gaining Women’s Suffrage
Second World War 1939 – Home Front – Women At War
http://www.herstoria.com/discover/index.html
An expansive collection of articles and images on women's history.
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com
Lesson plans and activities on women through the ages.
http://www.history.org.uk/index.php
The Historical Association – Lesson plans on Florence Nightingale, Grace Darling,
Boudicca and Queen Elizabeth I.
http://www.100greatblackbritons.com/home.html
Short biographies and pictures of significant black British women.
http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/index.html
A site dedicated to women who have ruled since the beginning of time. It lists female
heads of states and ministers.
http://www.britannica.com/women
Biographies of 300 women who have changed the world.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/
Type women into the search facility to retrieve information on Women’s suffrage, WW1
and WW2 women, women and Chartism, women and university education, women in the
roman empire, women and marriage in the 19th century, and much more.
http://www.britishpathe.com/
Video film archive site. Type women into the search facility to retrieve video clips about:
women in WW2, the first female jockey, Jackie Kennedy speaking, the Billie Jean King
final at Wimbledon and much more.
http://www.history.com
Type women into the serve facility and retrieve information on: Women’s History Month,
Women of Music, Women of Science, Black women in Sport, Women and the Vote and
much more. (USA site)
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/people-and-places/womenshistory/
Information on Women’s History imprinted in the buildings around Britain.
http://web.me.com/uromastyx.studio/WIC/wic2008biogreaphies.html
Women’s International Centre – Biographies of hundreds of prominent women (USA
site).
BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/famouspeople/
Information on Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole, Pocahontas and Elizabeth Fry.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/womens_work_01.shtml
Information on women’s work in Victorian Britain.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/victorian_britain/women_home/ideals_wo
manhood_01.shtml
Information on Victorian ‘Women at home’ and ‘Women Out and About.’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/wars_conflict/home_front/women_at_war
_01.shtml
Information on ‘she-soldiers’ through the ages.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/
Type women into the search facility and retrieve clips on the suffragettes, women’s rights,
women in the war, women in the 50s etc. Type ‘Boudicca’ and ‘Victorian Maid’ too.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/collections.shtml
Video and radio footage on: Enid Blyton, Suffragettes, Queen Elizabeth II, Agatha
Christie, Margaret Thatcher, Women’s Rights in the 1970’s and Fashion Through the
Ages.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/timeline/1900.shtml
Time line of women’s history from 1900.
Museums and Libraries
Natural History Museum:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/science-of-naturalhistory/biographies/mary-anning/
Information on Mary Anning.
British Museum:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/egypt/cleopatra_history
_to_myth/cleopatra_of_egypt_from_histo.aspx
Online tour of Cleopatra’s life.
Imperial War Museum:
http://london.iwm.org.uk/
Type women into the search facility and retrieve worksheets and information on women’s
roles in WW1 and WW2.
Royal Air Force Museum:
http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/online-exhibitions/women-of-the-air-force/
Information on women in the Royal Air Force.
International Museum of Women:
http://www.imow.org/home/index
Lesson plans on women and power (USA site).
Victoria and Albert Museum:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/index.html
Type women into the search facility and retrieve information on women’s fashion through
the ages, and the role of women from 1900 -1939.
Science Museum:
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people.aspx
Information on women scientists through the ages. Also, information about the history of
war nurses, wise women and midwives.
National Museum Wales:
http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2374/
Welsh Women’s History – 1900- 1918.
Florence Nightingale Museum:
http://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/cms/
Site dedicated to the life of Nightingale.
British Library:
http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/21cc/struggle/suffrage/suffrageintro.ht
ml
Campaign for Women’s Suffrage.
Museum of London:
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Explore-online/Pocket-histories/
5 objects analysed to reveal ‘pocket histories’ including ‘Queen Boudicca in London’ and
‘Suffragette City.’
History Curriculum Links (not incl. BBC and Museum sites)
Britain Since 1948
http://www.number10.gov.uk/history-and-tour/prime-ministers-inhistory/margaret-thatcher
Official site of the Prime Minister’s Office, with a section on Margaret Thatcher.
http://timeandplaceproject.org.uk/
Information on the experiences of Brighton nurses from the former colonies during the
1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
http://www.yourgreenham.co.uk/#homepage
Interactive website that records the actions, memories and history of the Greenham
protest.
http://www.teachers.org.uk/women
NUT site with information on the Equal Pay Act.
http://www.unionhistory.info/equalpay/
Trade Union Congress site – lesson resources on the fight for equal pay since the 19th
century.
http://www.lessonsfromthepast.co.uk/
A digital archive that currently contains fifty audio and visual interviews of women who
were born in or around Preston during the 1910s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.
Women and the Vote
http://www.parliament.uk/education/online-resources/lesson-plans/
Houses of Parliament website - Key Stage 2, 3, and 4 lesson plans on the suffragettes.
http://www.sylviapankhurst.com/
Information on Sylvia Pankhurst, daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst.
http://www.thepankhurstcentre.org.uk/
Information about the Pankhurst family and the Suffragette movement.
http://www.alicesuffragette.co.uk/
Information on Leicester-based suffragette Alice Hawkins.
http://www.teachers.org.uk/women
National Union of Teachers (NUT) – Information on women’s suffrage.
Florence Nightingale/Famous People/Victorians
http://www.rnli.org.uk/Shorething/Adults/Projects/FamousPeople.aspx
KS1, 2 and 3 lesson plans on Grace Darling
http://www.maryseacole.com/maryseacole/pages/
Information and resources from the Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice.
http://www.keystagehistory.co.uk/free-samples/free-samples.html
Free KS1 sample lessons on Mary Anning, Florence Nightingale and Grace Darling.
http://www.gertrudejekyll.co.uk/
Official website of Gertrude Jekyll, a famous Victorian garden designer.
http://www.peterrabbit.com/potters-world.asp
Information on Beatrix Potter’s life.
http://www.unionhistory.info/matchworkers/matchworkers.php
Information about the Match Workers Strike of 1888. The strike was helped organised
by women’s right activist, Annie Besant, and involved mainly working class teenage
girls. The strike was to have a lasting effect on the Trade Union movement.
Women and World War II
http://www.atsremembered.org.uk/
Information on women who served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service between 1938 and
1949.
Literacy and Drama Curriculum Links (not incl. museum and BBC
sites)
http://www.agathachristie.com/about-christie/
Information on crime writer Agatha Christie.
http://www.jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk/index.php
Information on Jane Austen.
http://www.bronte.info/
Information on the Bronte sisters.
Art and Design Curriculum Links (not incl. museum and BBC sites)
http://www.unsungheroines.com/index.php
Information on many of the lesser known women artists working in Britain in the 20th
century.
http://www.barbarahepworth.org.uk/
Official site of the sculptor, Barbara Hepworth.
http://www.maryquant.co.uk/top_content.html
Time-line and biography of the famous fashion designer, Mary Quant.
Maths and Science Curriculum Links (not incl. museum and BBC
sites)
http://www.womeninscience.co.uk/bios.php
L'Oréal’s For Women in Science website with biographies of prominent women scientists
in history.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/women.html
List of women awarded the Nobel Prize or the Prize in Economic Sciences.
http://www.daphnejackson.org/about/biographyofDaphneJackson/
Biography of Daphne Jackson, physicist.
http://royalsociety.org/Most-influential-British-women-in-the-history-ofscience/
A list of the ten most influential British female scientists in history (as voted by members
of the Royal Society).
PE and Dance Curriculum Links (not incl. museum and BBC sites)
http://www.ballet.co.uk/old/legend_js_margot_fonteyn.htm
Information on Margot Fonteyn, British ballet dancer.
http://www.therfl.co.uk/equitydiversity/international_womens_day/women_i
n_league_profiles
Profiles of women involved in Rugby League.
http://www.therfl.co.uk/equitydiversity/tackle-it
Tackle IT! is a programme to tackle discrimination and abuse across all the equality
strands as well as celebrating the diversity (including women players and supporters)
within Rugby League.
Other
http://www.historytoherstory.org.uk/
Celebrating the lives of women in Yorkshire from the 1100s to the present day.
http://www.hannahsnell.com/index.htm
Biography of 18th century Hannah Snell, female soldier disguised as a man.iii
Living Histories
http://www.wateraid.org/uk/learn_zone/teachers/secondary/women_and_wat
er/default.asp
Water Aid – Teaching aids on the subject of Women and Water.
http://www.sendmyfriend.org/teach/lesson-plans
Lesson plans on the rights of all girls to go to school.
http://www.teachers.org.uk/women
National Union of Teachers (NUT) – Information on global issues affecting women
today.
The Women’s Library
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary/prostitution/resource-content/
The Prostitution Debate – Teaching resources
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