Free 22 Women booklets tell the stories of Cheshire women found in the archives. The first 11 are out: Helsby, Neston, Northwich and Winsford each hold one.
Four libraries in west Cheshire now each hold the story of a local woman from the county’s archives, in a free booklet that families can take home, read and fold into a pop-up scene.
The booklets are part of 22 Women, a set of 22 activity booklets made by artist Cath Campbell with Cheshire Archives. The first 11 arrived in libraries this week, the council said on 29 October. Each library hosts a different woman, so collecting the set means travelling: four are in Cheshire West and Chester (Helsby, Neston, Northwich and Winsford) and seven in Cheshire East. There is no copy in a Chester city library in this first batch.
The quick answer
- What: free activity booklets, one per woman, each with her story and things to make.
- Where in west Cheshire: Helsby Library (Edith Fletcher), Neston Library (Agnes), Northwich Library at Weaver Hall (Florence Gleave) and Winsford Library (Margaret Whitehurst).
- Cost: the booklets are free and so is library entry. Cheshire Archives asks visitors to check opening times before they travel.
- How many: 11 out now, 22 in the full set.
- Full list: on the Cheshire Archives 22 Women page.
Why women
Campbell has been working with Cheshire Archives, and in her research found that women were historically underrepresented in the archive, according to the council. Her answer has been a series of projects to “uncover, collect and celebrate women’s stories”.
The women chosen include a poet, a novelist and a musician, alongside a dressmaker, a cotton mill worker, a mountaineer, a parachutist, a firefighter, a policewoman and a landowner. The archives’ own listing adds a headmistress and a saint.
Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “The first 11 of the new booklets arrived in libraries this week. You can collect a few or challenge yourself to find and collect all 22.
“This is part of our lead up to the opening of the new archives centres in Chester and Crewe early next year.”
After the story come the activities, and the booklet itself can be turned into a pop-up scene. It can stand alone, or several can be joined into what the archives calls a Carousel Book.
The four west Cheshire women
Helsby: Edith Fletcher, Rose Queen
On 27 May 1911, Helsby held its twelfth annual Rose Fete. Edith Fletcher (1897 to 1986), a 14-year-old schoolgirl from Pear Tree Farm, had been chosen as Rose Queen. The fete started in 1900; it was run by the committee of the church council, and the money went to the National Schools.
Neston: Agnes, an enslaved woman
In March 1826 a woman of about 25 was baptised at Neston Parish Church. The register names her as Agnes, but records that she had previously been called Leonora and had come from Demerara, in South America. Leonora had worked on a sugar plantation, where enslaved people were forced to work without freedom or pay.
How she came to Neston is not known. On 31 March 2026, two hundred years on, the church bells in Neston rang for 45 minutes in her memory.
Neston Library is also where the Agatha Christie exhibition opens on 30 October, so one trip covers both.
Northwich: Florence Gleave, munitions worker
Florence Gleave (1896 to 1917) worked at the Gadbrook factory in Northwich during the First World War. It made TNT for explosive shells. Most of its workers were known as “Canary Girls”, because the poisonous chemical could turn their skin yellow and make them seriously ill.
Florence had been at the factory for only nine weeks when she fell ill with TNT poisoning. She died in May 1917, aged 20. The Northwich Guardian called her “the heroine of the factory”. Her booklet is at Northwich Library, inside Weaver Hall Museum.
Winsford: Margaret Whitehurst, cotton mill worker
Margaret Whitehurst (1862 to 1902) started work at the Over Cotton Mill in Winsford at eight. On 27 October 1874 fire broke out in the six-storey building. Margaret jumped about 30 metres from a window into a water tank and survived. Her mother, Harriet, and her baby brother, Thomas, also jumped and did not.
Nine people died and around 300 lost their jobs. When Margaret gave evidence, the coroner complimented her on how intelligently she had done it. She was 13.
The first 11, and where to find them
| Town | Woman | Role | Library |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helsby | Edith Fletcher | Rose Queen | Helsby Library, WA6 0BW |
| Neston | Agnes | Enslaved woman | Neston Library, CH64 6QE |
| Northwich | Florence Gleave | Munitions factory worker | Northwich Library at Weaver Hall Museum |
| Winsford | Margaret Whitehurst | Cotton mill worker | Winsford Library, CW7 2AS |
| Alderley Edge | Katharine Chorley | Mountaineer and writer | Alderley Edge Library, SK9 7GP |
| Audlem | Doris Donnelly | Police officer | Nantwich Library, CW5 5LY |
| Bollington | Emma Brooke | Novelist and campaigner | Bollington Library, SK10 5JX |
| Congleton | Margaret Ward | Saint | Congleton Library, CW12 1ET |
| Holmes Chapel | Elsa Spencer | Parachutist | Holmes Chapel Library, CW4 7AP |
| Macclesfield | Elizabeth Legh | Musician | Macclesfield Library, SK10 1EE |
| Poynton | Ann Hall | Textile worker | Poynton Library, SK12 1RB |
Source: Cheshire Archives, checked 29 October 2026. The second 11 have not yet been announced.
New archive centres in 2027
Cheshire Archives, a shared service of Cheshire West and Chester Council and Cheshire East Council, is due to open two new purpose-built archive centres, in Chester and Crewe, early in 2027. The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Wolfson Foundation paid for their construction. The council’s announcement is on its website.
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