Episode 3: Elizabeth Wolstenhome-Elmy's statue in Congleton, United Kingdom

“And though she be but little, she is fierce” (Helena, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 3, scene 2). This is how our three guests today - activist Susan Munro, historian Maureen Wright, and sculptor Hazel Reeves - describe the woman whose statue they unveiled on International Women’s Day 2022 on Congleton High Street, the impressive yet insufficiently known suffragist Elizabeth Wolstenholme-Elmy. Useful links about things discussedThe Statue: you can read a brief entry on the statue on our map here. Elizabeth Group: The campaigning organisation chaired by Susan did a sterling job of documenting their actions and Hazel’s work. Find out more on their website here⁠ and on their YouTube channel here. ⁠ Visible Women: Sue mentions the importance of this organisation to her own campaign. Their activities can be followed here. Notable Women: Our guests mention a benefactor, Denise Coates, and the guest of honour at the unveiling, Baroness Hale⁠.Sir -: Want to know exactly what Sue wrote to the Guardian? Read her letter here.Your Next Read: Sue’s novel is available now! Order it here.  Hazel’s Next Project: Please spread the word and, if you can, contribute to the campaign for Hazel’s next site of feminist memory (fingers crossed!): a statue to Ada Nield Chew in Crew. The campaign's website can be found ⁠here⁠.Teaser: Hazel’s statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in Manchester is the focus of our next episode! Listen here.Essential readingWright, Maureen, “A grand day for Congleton: unveiling the statue Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy, Britain’s most radical suffragist”, Women’s History Review, 32(3), 2023, 415–423Wright, Maureen, Elizabeth Wolstenholme-Elmy and the Victorian feminist movement: the biography of an insurgent woman, Manchester University Press, 2011About UsBronze Ceiling is the podcast series of HerStory Maps, a citizen-science project aiming to map the sites of feminist memory everywhere in the world. The current map is ⁠here⁠ but a much more user-friendly and content rich one (including these podcasts, as well as videos, a serious game and maybe even guided audio tours) will be going live in March 2027 (at the latest)!If you would like to get in touch, please email us at: [email protected] InformationDate of recording: 17 June 2025Host: Marc Calvini-LefebvreResearch: Blanche Plaquevent and Marc Calvini-LefebvreEditing: Blanche Plaquevent and Marc Calvini-Lefebvre