Archives in Action - Women of Cheshire

Discover women’s stories from Cheshire’s past and help us create an archive for the future. 

Women have always shaped Cheshire. They have been writers and workers, campaigners and carers, artists and adventurers. They have shaped families, workplaces, communities and places. 

But whose stories get remembered, recorded and preserved? 

As part of the lead-up to the opening of the new archive centres we have been working with artist Cath Campbell on a creative engagement programme. During her research in the archives she experienced the frustration that historically women were underrepresented in the archive.   

Cath has designed a series of projects that uncover and celebrate women’s stories stored in the archive as well as inviting people to share experiences of women and girls living in Cheshire today. 

Explore the programme 

2 Women

Two women. Two places. Two new public artworks. 

Two large-scale public artworks are being developed for Chester and Crewe, bringing women’s stories out of the archive and into public space. 

Discover 2 Women in 2027.

22 Women 

22 women. 22 places. Stories to discover across Cheshire. 

Meet some wonderful women from Cheshire’s past through a collection of 22 activity booklets.  Each has a women’s story from the archives and creative activities for families, available from 22 libraries across Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester.  

Discover 22 Women in October 2026.

20,000 Women 

Now it’s your turn to make history. 

We are inviting you to share stories of women and girls living in Cheshire through zines: homemade booklets that can be made using words, drawings, photographs, collage, textiles or digital media. 

The ambition is to collect and preserve the stories of women and girls in a special Cheshire Archives collection, creating a remarkable snapshot of life in Cheshire in 2026 for generations to come. 

How to create and submit a story