The hidden history of women in construction

·35 min·3 clips

A regal stone lion at Audley End was made by Eleanor Coade, an 18th-century woman who perfected an artificial stone recipe and built a roaring business.

The episode begins with host Amy Matthews noting that women make up 15% of the UK construction workforce today, then questioning their historical roles. Dr. Megan Leyland, a Senior Curator at English Heritage, explains her research into aristocratic women's patronage and design roles, leading to curiosity about women in the broader building process. Professor Linda Clark from the University of Westminster discusses her focus on labour and the social history of construction, including a study on Somerstown. The mystery object is a stone lion on the Lion Gate at Audley End in Essex, placed in 1786 and made of Coade stone, an artificial material. Leyland reveals the manufacturer was Eleanor Coade, a successful businesswoman who refined the stone's formula and marketed it widely. Clark emphasizes looking beyond exceptional examples like Coade to everyday women, such as those in brick-making around London. Leyland lists women found in English Heritage accounts at sites like Audley End, Belsay Hall, and Apple Durcombe House, working in trades like plumbing, glazing, and bricklaying. The discussion explores how women entered the industry through parish apprenticeships under the 1563 Statute of Artificers, which was gender-neutral, and through family networks, often as widows taking over businesses. Examples include Elizabeth Ward doing various jobs at Audley End and Mary Bunton supplying crown glass. Clark notes the importance of wage labour and disruptions like fen drainage, which pushed women into construction work. The hosts discuss why physical construction roles matter, challenging assumptions about women's physical weakness and citing examples like women building Waterloo Bridge during World War II. Leyland stresses the value of mundane contributions, such as Jane Morgan supplying nails for a bridge. Clark traces evolution into the 20th and 21st centuries, with women entering through skill centres in the 1970s and now in areas like retrofit and environmental building. The episode concludes by highlighting the need to use diverse sources, like oral history and novels, to uncover women's stories and overcome the historical hangover of exclusion.

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