Women and the Making of Built Space in England, 1870?1950

This interdisciplinary collection explores the relationships between women and built space in England between the 1870s and the 1940s. Included are East End rent collectors, tenants, diarists and correspondents, committee and Guild members, provincial and metropolitan exhibitors, social reformers, activists, and homemakers. Taken together, these essays dramatically expand our conception of the scope and effectiveness of women''s contributions, both to the creation of modern built environments, and to the development of discourses associated with them.

This interdisciplinary collection explores the relationships between women and built space in England between the 1870s and the 1940s. Historians working in cultural, literary, architectural, urban, design, labour, and social history approach the topic through case studies of often neglected organisations, individuals, practices and initiatives. Included are East End rent collectors, tenants, diarists and correspondents, the All-Europe House, the Women''s Co-operative Guild, the Housewives Committee of the Council of Industrial Design, provincial and metropolitan exhibitors, and activists of varying kinds. Moving beyond the study of buildings and their designers, the volume considers the making of space in its broadest sense, from the production of discourses to the consumption of domestic appliances and the performance of roles as diverse as social reformers, committee members and homemakers. It thereby demonstrates that women made a significant contribution to the creation of modern built environments in both public and private spheres.