A group of us went with some friends from Motherwell Women’s Charity to visit the Pankhurst Museum and hear from Manchester Women’s Aid which is also based there. Beforehand we had a lovely lunch at The Whitworth Art Gallery. The museum itself stands incongruously as a victorian house in the middle of the modern buildings of Central Manchester Hospital, and was where Emmeline Pankhurst lived and started the suffragette movement from her parlour there. We learned a lot about the birth of the suffragette movement and Emmeline’s role in this, which was very interesting. It was also very useful to hear about Manchester Women’s Aid, supporting 5 refuges and a range of outreach services for women subject to domestic abuse. we were pleased to hear that they are in contact with, and learning from our local service Cheshire Without Abuse, which is considered a model of good practice. At the end we walked round the lovely suffragette garden, planted past year for  the centenary of some women getting the vote in beautiful suffragette colours of purple white and green. It was a great visit, and we will definitely return! Here are some pics of our visit: