Women's Institute building in Llanfairpwll, Wales. Dating from 1915, this is the oldest WI in Britain
The WI movement began at Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, in 1897 when Adelaide Hoodless addressed a meeting for the wives of members of the Farmers' Institute. WIs quickly spread throughout Ontario and Canada, with 130 branches launched by 1905 in Ontario alone, and the groups flourish in their home province today. As of 2013, the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario (FWIO) had more than 300 branches with more than 4,500 members.[2]
Madge Watt, a founder member of the first WI in British Columbia, organised the first WI meeting in the United Kingdom, which took place on 16 September 1915 at Llanfairpwll on Anglesey, Wales.[3] The organisation had two aims: to revitalise rural communities and to encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War.
Former Buttonville Women's Institute Hall in Markham, Ontario, Canada. The WI closed in the 1980s, and the hall is now used as a daycare and a community centre.
Women's Institutes were formed in Scotland and Northern Ireland independently of those in England and Wales. The first Women's Rural Institute started in Scotland on 26 June 1917, and Madge Watt travelled up from London to speak to a meeting at Longniddry.[4] After the end of the Great War, Watt returned to Canada where she continued as an activist for the interests of rural women. In 1930 she founded the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW).[5]
After the end of the First World War, the Board of Agriculture withdrew its sponsorship, although the Development Commission financially supported the work of the forming of new WIs and gave core funding to the National Federation until it could become financially independent. By 1926 the Women's Institutes were fully independent and rapidly became an essential part of rural life.
One of their features was an independence from political parties or institutions, or church or chapel, which encouraged activism by non-establishment women, which helps to explain why the WI has been extremely reluctant to support anything that can be construed as war work, despite their wartime formation. During the Second World War, they limited their contribution to such activities as looking after evacuees, and running the Government-sponsored Preservation Centres where volunteers canned or made jam of excess produce; all this produce was sent to depots to be added to the rations.
Women's Institutes in England, Wales, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are affiliated with the National Federation of Women's Institutes. In Scotland and Northern Ireland there are similar organisations tied to the WI through the Associated Country Women of the World: the Scottish Women's Rural Institutes and the Women's Institutes of Northern Ireland.
England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands
Structure and membership
Each individual WI is a separate charitable organisation, run by and for its own members with a constitution agreed at national level but the possibility of local bye-laws. WIs are grouped into Federations, roughly corresponding to counties or islands, which each have a local office and one or more paid staff. The National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) is the overall body of the WI in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with headquarters in London. There is also an office in Cardiff, NFWI-Wales. WI Enterprises is the trading arm of the organisation and exists to raise funds and provide benefits for members. As of January 2019[update] there were approximately 220,000 members of 6,300 Women's Institutes in England, Wales and the islands,[6] linked through the Associated Country Women of the World to other WIs worldwide.
The WI is a women-only organisation, and has clarified in a 2017 statement Transgender WI membership that "Anyone who is living as a woman is welcome to join the WI and to participate in any WI activities in the same way as any other woman".[7] Colonel Richard Stapleton-Cotton and his dog Tinker are the only two males ever to be accepted as fully paid-up WI members: the Colonel, a "highly influential man locally", played a major part in setting up the first WI meeting in Anglesey in 1915.[8]
Campaigns
The WI campaigns on a wide range of issues affecting women, based on resolutions agreed at each year's national Annual Meeting. Its first resolution, passed in 1918, called for "sufficient supply of convenient and sanitary houses, being of vital importance to women in the country".[9] In 1943 they called for "Equal Pay for Equal Work" and continued to argue for this until the Equal Pay Act 1970 was passed.[10] 1954's resolution to "‘preserve the countryside against desecration by litter" lead to the formation of the Keep Britain Tidy group, which became a registered charity in 1960.[11] The WI discussed HIV/AIDS in 1986, agreeing "to inform the general public of the true facts concerning the disease AIDS" and subsequently working with the Terence Higgins Trust to produce a leaflet on "Women and AIDS".[12] The 2017 meeting passed a motion on microplastics pollution or "Plastic soup",[13] and in 2018 the WI agreed to "Make Time for Mental Health", "calling on members to take action to make it as acceptable to talk about mental health as it is about physical health".[14]
Activities
A 1933 WI produce stall in Cirencester
Every individual WI meets at least once a month. There is usually a speaker, demonstration or activity at every meeting for members to learn and develop a range of different skills.[15]
Craft has always played an important role in the WI and thousands of members are involved in a range of different crafts.[16]
The Women's Institute is often associated with food, cooking and healthy eating, and food and cooking form an important part of the WI's history.[17]
1941: Members of Meifod WI busy "jamming" under the Ministry of Food fruit preserving scheme
Home-prepared foods continue to be a staple for the institute. Country Markets Limited is now independent of the WI but its markets were formerly known as "WI Markets" and it was previously part of the NFWI.[18][19]
In 1948, NFWI bought Marcham Park in Berkshire, England and converted it into a short-stay residential adult education college, named Denman College[20] in honour of Lady Gertrude Denman. Now referred to as Denman, it has grown and developed over the years and is a well-appointed adult education centre attended by approximately 10,000 students each year. It is open to non-members as well as members. Courses offered at Denman include yoga, history of fashion and dance.[21]
The WI Cookery School at Denman offers a range of over 100 day schools, residential courses and family courses. The courses are tutored by specialists.
In July 2020, the NFWI announced that Denman College would be closing permanently due to longstanding financial difficulties exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.[22]
WI Life
Women's Institute serving refreshments at a Saint George's Day event in Rochester, Kent
The NFWI produces a membership magazine, WI Life. Published eight times a year, WI Life is delivered (as of 2017[update]) to more than 220,000 WI members.[23]
"Jerusalem"
During the 1920s, many WIs started choirs and NFWI set up a music committee. W.H. Leslie, an amateur musician from Llansantffraid, Shropshire, acted as an advisor,[24] and held a one-day school for village conductors in London in early 1924. He asked his friend Sir Walford Davies to write an arrangement of Hubert Parry's setting of "Jerusalem", for WI choirs. This hymn, with its association with the fight for women's suffrage, was considered appropriate for the emerging WI movement which was encouraging women to take their part in public life, and to improve the conditions of rural life. Leslie suggested that Walford Davies' special arrangement for choir and string orchestra should be performed at the Annual General Meeting of NFWI held in the Queen's Hall, London in 1924. He conducted the singing, bringing a choir from local WIs with him to lead.
This was so successful that it continues to be sung at the opening of NFWI AGMs, and many WIs open meetings by singing "Jerusalem", although it has never been adopted as the WI's official anthem.
As part of the 95th anniversary celebration, a "modern" version of "Jerusalem" was recorded by The Harmonies, selected from entrants from the "WI Search for a Star" competition. It was released in 2010 as part of the album Voices of the W.I.
Royal membership
Queen Elizabeth II was a member from 1943 until her death in 2022, and was President of Sandringham WI. Her mother Queen Elizabeth was also a member, as are Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh; Queen Camilla; and Anne, Princess Royal.[25] Queen Elizabeth II attended the January meeting at Sandringham each year and in January 2019 referred to "common ground" and "never losing sight of the bigger picture" in a speech which was widely reported and interpreted as touching on the Brexit debate.[26][27] The evening's guest speaker was Alexander Armstrong, host of TV show Pointless, and the Queen participated in a game of Pointless played at the meeting, on the winning side; Armstrong commented on her "deft, silky Pointless skills".[28][27]
Archives
The archives of the National Federation of Women's Institutes are held at The Women's Library at the Library of the London School of Economics.[29] The WI's archives are open to the public.
Scotland
The Scottish Women's Institutes (SWI) was formed in 1917 as the Scottish Women's Rural Institutes, and was renamed in 2015. As of January 2019[update] it had approximately 15,300 members in 700 institutes grouped into 32 federations.[30] In 2013 the Scottish Women's Rural Institutes website traced its history to Stoney Creek and 1897,[31] but as of January 2019[update] the "time line" on the official Scottish Women's Institutes website begins at Longniddry in 1917 with no mention of any Canadian roots.[30]
Northern Ireland
The first WI in Northern Ireland was formed at Garvagh, County Londonderry, in 1932 and the Federation of Women's Institutes of Northern Ireland was established in 1942.[32]As of January 2019[update] there were about 5,000 members of 154 institutes grouped into 21 areas.[33]
The New Zealand Federation of Women's Institutes was founded in 1921 and was previously known as The Dominion Federation of Women's Institutes (from 1932), The Dominion Federation of Country Women's Institutes (from 1952) and the New Zealand Federation of Country Women's Institutes (from 1982) before acquiring its current name in 2004. As of 2018[update] it had over 4,000 members in 245 Local WIs grouped into 38 District Federations.[35]
South Africa
There are Women's Institutes in South Africa, some long-established: Eikenhof WI celebrated its 65th birthday in 2017[36] and Kloof its 80th in 2018.[37][38]
Southern Rhodesia (historical)
The Southern Rhodesia Federation of Women's Institutes was founded in 1925 as a "European-based" organisation, and continued until at least 1985 as the National Federation of Women's Institutes of Zimbabwe.[39]
Jam & Jerusalem –2006 British television sitcom centred around a local WI, though referenced as a Women's Guild. Titled Clatterford in the United States, after the fictional West Country town where it takes place.
Home Fires – 2015 British television series about a Cheshire WI during World War II
The Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) – the largest international organization for both rural and urban women, of which the English and Welsh WIs are part
As of 28 February 2011, this article is derived in whole or in part from thewi.org.uk. The copyright holder has licensed the content in a manner that permits reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.The original text was at "History"An archived copy (24 July 2011) of that page is available
↑ "Guild". Skene Parish Church of Scotland. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
↑ "National Federation of Women's Institutes: Harare (Salisbury)". Southern Rhodesia Study Circle. Retrieved 25 January 2019. This page from a philatelic study group shows a commemorative envelope printed "60 years of service 1925-1985: National Federation of Women's Institutes of Zimbabwe"
Bibliography
Andrews, Maggie – The Acceptable Face of Feminism, the Women's Institute as a social movement – Lawrence and Wishart 1997
Connell, Linda and Stamper, Anne – Textile Treasures of the WI – NNA 2007
Davies, Constance – A Grain of Mustard Seed – Gee and Son Denbigh, 2nd Ed. 1989
Dudgeon, Piers – Village Voices, a portrait of change in England's Green and Pleasant Land Sidgwick and Jackson 1989
Garner, Gwen – Extra Ordinary Women – WI Books 1995
Goodenough, Simon – Jam and Jerusalem – Collins 1977 ( ISBN0 00 411807 3)
Huxley, Gervas – Lady Denman G.B.E. – Chatto and Windus 1961
Jenkins, Inez – The History of the Women's Institute Movement of England and Wales – OUP 1953
McCall, Cicely – Women's Institutes – the Britain in Pictures series – Collins 1943
Robertson Scott, J. W. – The Story of the Women's Institute Movement in England and Wales and Scotland – The Village Press – 1925
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 as the British Empire Games and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, has successively run every four years since. The event was called the British Empire Games from 1930 to 1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954 to 1966, and the British Commonwealth Games from 1970 to 1974. The event removed the word British from its title for the 1978 Games and has maintained its current name ever since.
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of grassroots environmental organizations in 73 countries. About half of the member groups call themselves "Friends of the Earth" in their own languages; the others use other names. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken, and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with the Sierra Club because of the latter's positive approach to nuclear energy. It became an international network of organizations in 1971 with a meeting of representatives from four countries: U.S., Sweden, the UK and France.
A national trust is an organisation dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of a particular geographic region. Although the focus may vary by region, the principal goals are to ensure the preservation of historically significant items and conserve areas of natural beauty. They generally operate as private non-profit organisations.
The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls. The Land Army placed women with farms that needed workers, the farmers being their employers. The members picked crops and did all the labour to feed the country. Notable members include Joan Quennell, later a Member of Parliament; John Stewart Collis, Irish author and pioneer ecologist; the archaeologist Lily Chitty and the botanist Ethel Thomas. It was disbanded in 1919 but revived in June 1939 under the same name to again organise new workers to replace workers that served in the military during the Second World War.
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Scottish Women's Institutes (SWI) is a Scottish member-led organisation which is informally called "the Rural", after its original name Scottish Women's Rural Institutes.
The Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) is the largest international organization for rural women, with a membership of nine million in 82 countries. ACWW holds a triennial conference and publishes a magazine, The Countrywoman, four times a year.
Gertrude Mary Denman, Baroness DenmanGBE was a British woman active in women's rights issues including the promotion of Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. She was also the wife of Lord Denman, the 3rd Baron Denman, fifth Governor-General of Australia, and she officially named Australia's capital city Canberra in 1913.
Toh Puan Umasundari Sambanthan née Subramaniam was a Malaysian activist, social worker and leading figure of the cooperative movement. She was also the wife of Tun V.T. Sambanthan, former Malayan Labour Minister, president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) and regarded as one of the founding fathers of Malaysia.
The Queen's Nursing Institute (QNI) is a charity that works to improve the nursing care of people in their own homes in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It does not operate in Scotland, where the Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland performs a similar function. The QNI is also affiliated to the Queen's Institute of District Nursing in Ireland. The QNI is a member of the International Council of Nurses.
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
Erland Lee was a Canadian farmer, teacher, and government employee from Stoney Creek, Ontario. He was a co-founder of the Women's Institutes, an international organization originally formed to promote the education of isolated rural women.
Denman, formally Denman College, was a residential adult education college centred on what was Marcham Park at Marcham in the English county of Oxfordshire. Founded by the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) in 1948, Denman offered day schools and residential courses in cookery, craft and lifestyle, as well a variety of events, conferences and weddings.
Margaret Robertson Watt was a Canadian writer, editor and activist. She was a woman of great energy and drive who believed strongly in the power exerted by women working together. She is known to members of Women's Institutes in the United Kingdom for introducing the concepts and practices of the Canadian Women's Institute movement to Britain in 1914. She is remembered internationally as one of the founding members of the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) in 1933.
The Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario (FWIO) is a not-for-profit charitable organization with affiliations around the world, working with and for women in Ontario.
Patricia 'Tish' Collins is chief executive officer of rural women's development charity Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW). Born in London, she studied in the UK and East Germany, and worked for the National Farmers' Union and several charities before starting with ACWW in 2014.
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The Earley Women's Institute was a community-based organization for women situated in Earley, Berkshire, England. This organisation existed from 1938 to 2004. It sought to help local women develop skills, further their educations, and improve the community. During the Second World War, the Earley WI held talks on homemaking and preserving rationed food. The Earley WI also helped to ensure that evacuees had quality clothing and entertainment. After the Second World War, the Earley WI created activities, judged local competitions, carried out charity work in the local area and gave lessons on first aid. The organisation dissolved in February 2004, because of its poor financial position. Details of the organisation's work are in the Earley WI committee and meeting notes held at the Berkshire Record Office, in Reading.
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