Votes for Women at the Museum of London

Last week I managed to visit the Museum of London before I went to Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium, London’s first cat cafe, for the launch of The LEGO NINJAGO Movie. I really wanted to go and see their new Votes for Women exhibition. This year marks the centenary of the 1918 Representation of the People Act which extended the vote to some women.

Votes for Women display

I used to work at the Museum of London and love going back to visit. I was really excited to see their new exhibition. The display forms part of the national commemorations marking the centenary of the 1918 Act that gave some women the right to vote for the first time. Dedicated to those who campaigned tirelessly for over 50 years to achieve votes for women, the exhibition features iconic objects from the Museum’s vast Suffragette collection, including Emmeline Pankhurst’s hunger strike medal. At the heart of the display is a powerful, newly commissioned film that reflects on the contemporary relevance of the militant campaign that continues to inspire, shock and divide opinion.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the size of the display. It really was one film and 5 display cases with some objects in. The display was free but I still felt it was a missed opportunity to show more of the collection.

Thankfully, or perhaps because of this, you can see lots more objects on permanent display in the People’s City gallery. There you will find a few more cases about the Suffragette’s in London, including some of the beautiful banners. A few more items are on display in the Show Space, consisting of 3 cases a video and 2 audio devices. I would have liked to have seen all this material together in one place to mark the centenary. It is still worth making a visit, I just wish it was a little more exciting.

The Fatberg display hadn’t yet opened, but it has now so I will have to go back, so I visited the shop before I left. I couldn’t resist one of the toffee hammer badges for my pin collection. I also loved the Tatty Devine X Museum of London collaboration but couldn’t really justify the price of any of the pieces.

Votes for Women is well worth a look if you are in the area. It’s open now until the 6th January 2019.