Women of the Downs Steyning Museum

Steyning Museum’s Women of the Downs exhibition celebrates the achievements of the women of the South Downs, from farmers to fire fighters, from Miliana, locked in a cell in the church, to the gender non conformist artist Gluck.

Women of the Downs opens on March 29. The museum is celebrating the achievements of local women, like Val Hodges, one of our first female butchers, and Carol Myerscough (nee Mattey) our first female fire fighter.

The exhibition will take a look at suffragists, like Maud Joachim and revolutionary journalists, like Alison Settle and the Shackleton-Heald sisters.

Using archive photos and costumes the exhibition will explore the work of Eva Handley Read, Mary Watson and Rebecca Watson, dental surgeon and ground-breaking nurses.

tt will also tip a nod to Backsettown in Henfield, a suffragist retreat. The exhibit also includes textile work from local textile groups, celebrating traditional skills.

It's all about unsung heroines and unpaid work.