Shipley's role in votes for women fight highlighted in new tour
Ms Crowther said it must have been a huge moment when "up to 100,000 people surged from Bradford city, and across the region, up to the Glen to take part in this amazing rally".In fact, the event at Shipley Glen is considered to be a direct precursor to the famed Hyde Park rally held later that year in support of women's right to vote.At the Shipley rally, Ms Kenney, who worked for a stationers in Bingley and was a leading member of the Women's Social and Political Union, spoke alongside famous suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.Ms Crowther explained that Ms Kenney and her sisters not only campaigned across West Yorkshire, but also travelled widely - from the North East to the Midlands - on bicycles and trains to spread the word about votes for women.Ms Kenney also famously led demonstrations at the Houses of Parliament and at one point was jailed for 14 days as a result.Ms Crowther said: "She had a very significant impact in the provinces in the votes for women movement. She was fearless."These women risked everything - reputation, freedom, safety - so we could have the right to vote today."
Ms Crowther said the aim of the new tour, the first of which is due to take place at 13:00 BST on Sunday 25 May and which will be run regularly until the autumn, was to bring the story of Ms Kenney and other "forgotten" suffragettes back to life.It would "really celebrate and appreciate all that dedication, hard work and sacrifice that enabled women now to be able to vote", she said.Ms Crowther explained that the inaugural performance would begin in Saltaire with her first playing another character, Pollie Toothill, a Victorian woman re-created from historical research and census records.Ms Toothill would recount her life as the wife of a scandalous Victorian character in the 1870s - and would also give the audience a window onto the world of famed local personalities including Sir Titus Salt, the founder of Saltaire.Ms Crowther said that as the audience boarded the famous Shipley Glen Tramway - dubbed the "time machine" - she would switch hats and costumes and grab her sash and umbrella, which was known as the suffragettes' "weapon of choice", to morph into Nell Kenney."Bringing this to life isn't just about history," she said."It's about reclaiming a story of women who stood up and demanded change - and showing that this corner of Yorkshire was right at the heart of it."
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
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