{"id":1445,"date":"2024-09-10T15:45:32","date_gmt":"2024-09-10T14:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/astor100\/?p=1445"},"modified":"2024-09-10T15:45:32","modified_gmt":"2024-09-10T14:45:32","slug":"my-summer-in-the-astor-papers-by-courtney-murch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/astor100\/my-summer-in-the-astor-papers-by-courtney-murch\/","title":{"rendered":"My summer in the Astor Papers by Courtney Murch"},"content":{"rendered":"

My summer researching the archives and papers of the first female MP to take her seat in parliament: Nancy Astor and her role in the 1928 Equal Franchise Act at Special Collections University of Reading\u00a0<\/strong>by Courtney Murch.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Turning 18 in 2022 did not only mean that I was going to university, but it also meant that I was able to vote. Almost three years on, I spent my summer in 2024 uncovering how Nancy Astor contributed and allowed for women like me to be able to vote today.<\/p>\n

Through research and cataloguing in the Nancy Astor Papers at Special Collections here at the University of Reading, I learnt about her involvement in the 1928 Equal Franchise and as the Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin dragged his feet, worried by opposition within his Conservative party, how determined she was to hold them to their promise for women to get the vote at 21 on equal terms to men who had been granted the vote at 21 in 1918. I uncovered hundreds of files that I viewed, but I realised that it only scraped the surface of her papers.<\/p>\n

\u2018Pioneers may be picturesque figures, but they are often rather lonely ones\u2019 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nancy Astor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I was amazed at the volume of papers Astor had kept which indicated that she was aware of her place in history and that she was going to be remembered for her significance and contribution to the 1928 Equal Franchise Act in particular. Her contribution as the first female MP to take her seat in parliament was a major historical event in British History and a milestone for women\u2019s democratic rights.<\/p>\n

As a University of Reading history student going into my third year, it is not often that I am able to access the backrooms of archives due to my coursework and other extracurricular activities. However, this project allowed me to experience my first research opportunity which was separate from my undergraduate degree. The staff at the London Road Special Collections gave me special access to be allowed to view in the archives in the backrooms and the sheer amount of Nancy Astor files. I was surprised to see how many files which had the label of Nancy Astor in the back- floor to almost the ceiling!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I took part in this research in the London Road archives for an upcoming biography of Astor and online course on the 1928 Equal Franchise written by my dissertation supervisor, Dr Jacqui Turner. Researching and cataloguing the files kept by Nancy Astor has made me realise how privileged I am to be able to vote, knowing that Astor had contributed to this.<\/p>\n

\u2018The only thing the women were after was just the chance to help the world on. But some men were so dreadfully afraid of them that they refused to understand, and talked about ‘shrieking sisterhoods’ and ‘disappointed spinsters’ and rubbish of that sort.\u2019\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nancy Astor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A hundred years ago in 1920s, women who were aged 21 were not permitted to vote in elections. Women at my age were regarded as \u2018flappers\u2019 and were considered immature or illogical in comparison to men aged 21. Approaching a hundred years later, the impact of the 1928 Equal Franchise Act has made me realise that this Act was the foundation of changing attitudes and treatment of women has improved dramatically.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My summer researching the archives and papers of the first female MP to take her seat in parliament: Nancy Astor and her role in the 1928 Equal Franchise Act at…Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":1446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-events"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMy summer in the Astor Papers by Courtney Murch | Nancy Astor and Gendered Interwar Politics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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