Suffrage 100 - Archives at night: Law breakers, law makers

Join us for a night of suffrage celebration, entertainment and… jiu jitsu?

On 6 February 1918, 8.4 million women gained the right to vote. The Representation of People Act (1918) was an unprecedented step towards gender equality in Britain. But it hardly came about peacefully.

For our Archives at Night event in May, we are pulling stories from our collection that chart the course of the suffrage movement in the early 20th century: protest, militancy, and the outbreak of war on a global scale.

As with every Archives at Night, this will be an evening of incredible activities, fascinating talks, and some astonishing original records:

- In conversation with Jessica Hynes – discussing her inspirations for and approach to writing and researching BBC suffrage sitcom Up the Women
- A truly unmissable combination of history and martial arts – performer, writer and researcher Naomi Paxton discusses the fight for women’s votes via the unconvential medium of jiu jitsu
- Early access to our upcoming Suffrage 100 exhibition
- Curator talks and experts on-hand to talk you through our records
- A display of original documents relating to women’s rights throughout the 20th century
- Live period music
- Suffrage-themed photobooths
- Badge-making
- Food and drink to purchase, including a themed cocktail bar

and…

- Our friends at FindMyPast will also be on hand to help you research your suffrage ancestors

Your ticket includes a free cocktail on arrival!*
*free drink token can also be exchanged for a beer, wine or soft drink

This event is strictly adults only (18+).

Programme is subject to change.

Please note: entrance to the talks are limited by capacity and will be determined on the night, on a first come, first served basis.

#Vote100

DIRECTIONS:
Tube: Kew Gardens station - District Line and London Overground
Train: Kew Bridge station - South West Trains
Buses: R68 to Kew Retail Park
Further travel information is available on our How to find us page.

More suffrage events:
If you’re interested in attending more events around the theme of suffrage, head over to our Suffrage 100 portal to find what we’ve got coming up: nationalarchives.gov.uk/suffrage-100

We run an exciting range of events and exhibitions on a wide variety of topics. For more details, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/whatson.

This event is part of the Museum’s at Night programme.