The Angels of the North – Volume 2
May 2025 Meeting Report
On Monday 12th May, following a brief AGM, Moira Kilkenny introduced a talk on ‘Angels of the North Volume 2’, a collection of essays on notable women of the north east which she has co-written with Joyce Quin.
Joyce then went on to talk in detail about some of these women who, while not necessarily being famous, have nevertheless made substantial contributions in their particular fields.
The earliest entry concerns two female servants who, in 1417, dressed as men to gain access to St Cuthbert’s tomb at Durham Cathedral, a place from which women were traditionally barred. And the most recent entry is Dame Rosemary Cramp, a leading expert in Anglo-Saxon and early medieval archaeology at Durham University, who died as recently as 2023.
The definition of the north east was occasionally stretched. The philosopher Mary Midgley, for example, grew up in London and went to Oxford University. But she then married a man from Newcastle and lived there for 59 years until she died in Jesmond at the age of 99. Hannah Hauxwell, the star of several TV documentaries, was known as a Yorkshire farmer, but her farm in the north Pennines was officially in County Durham.
One of the most local northern women to appear in the book is Bella Reay from Blyth, known as ‘Wor Bella’, who was a munitionette in the First World War, when women were called on to work in the munitions factories while the men were away fighting. She introduced women’s football matches as a means of exercise for her fellow workers, and to raise money for the soldiers fighting on the front. She played for Blyth Spartans when they won the Munitions Cup, scoring four goals in the final.
Many of the women who appear in the book were from wealthy or middle class backgrounds. But the working classes are also represented. Elizabeth Shepherd was brought up on Coquet Island and later lived in Amble with her husband, a miner. When he was injured and unable to work, with no compensation, Elizabeth had to find a way to provide for her family. She did this by making quilts and was very successful. One of her quilts is on display at the Beamish Museum, and another at the British Museum in London.
The list goes on, totalling 35 amazing women from the north east who must surely serve as an inspiration to us all.
Report by Kathryn McLachlan