Archives in Action - 22 Women
22 women. 22 places. 22 stories from Cheshire’s past.
22 Women introduces women connected with communities across Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester, uncovering an extraordinary range of lives preserved in Cheshire’s archives.
Each woman’s story has been turned into an activity booklet for families, designed to encourage people to discover something about the history on their doorstep.
You can collect a few or challenge yourself to find and collect all 22.
In future they also connect to further information online through the Gems digital platform.
Among the women being explored are a poet, novelist and musician, alongside a dressmaker, cotton mill worker, headmistress, mountaineer, parachutist, firefighter, policewoman and landowner.
The first 11 Women booklets will be in libraries across Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester from October half term 2026.
All booklets are free, and library admission is free. Before you travel, please check library opening times and the latest public transport information.
| Town | Woman from the Archive | Role | Library where you’ll find her booklet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alderley Edge | Katharine Chorley | Mountaineer & Writer | Alderley Edge Library, SK9 7GP |
| Audlem | Doris Donnelly | Police Officer | Nantwich Library, CW5 5LY |
| Bollington | Emma Brooke | Novelist & campaigner | Bollington Library, SK10 5JX |
| Congleton | Margaret Ward | Saint | Congleton Library, CW12 1ET |
| Helsby | Edith Fletcher | Rose Queen | Helsby Library, WA6 0BW |
| Holmes Chapel | Elsa Spencer | Parachutist | Holmes Chapel Library, CW4 7AP |
| Macclesfield | Elizabeth Legh | Musician | Macclesfield Library, SK10 1EE |
| Neston | Agnes | Enslaved woman | Neston Library, CH64 6QE |
| Northwich | Florence Gleave | Munitions factory worker | Northwich Library at Weaver Hall Museum, CW6 8AB |
| Poynton | Ann Hall | Textile worker | Poynton Library, SK12 1RB |
| Winsford | Margaret Whitehurst | Cotton Mill worker | Winsford Library, CW7 2AS |
