St Mary’s history talk to look at lives of 17th century women

HISTORY TALK: St Mary’s Church in Lowgate. Picture credit: Abby Wardill

By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor

Women’s lives in 17th century Hull will be the subject of a local history talk at St Mary’s Church in Lowgate next month.

Presented by local history enthusiast Mike Rymer, his talk – Woman’s Work? Women’s Lives in Late 17th Century Kingston upon Hull – will consider women’s social and legal status and how they were perceived by society.

Issues it will cover include whether married woman could work and what kind of work they might have done. It will also consider how widows were treated, if divorce an option, who was in charge of the money in a marriage, and what local evidence exists to tell us about the lives of women in our city.

The one-hour event is the Friends of St Mary’s 2024 John Scott Lecture and begins at 6pm on Wednesday, September 4, with doors open from 5.30pm.

Amanda Habergham, chair of the Friends of St Mary’s, said: “We are delighted that Mike Rymer has kindly agreed to talk to us this year. We hear a lot about men in history, so it will be refreshing to learn about the women of our city and what their lives would have been like. We hope as many people as possible will join us.”

The event aims to raise money for the upkeep of the Grade II* listed church, one of Hull’s oldest surviving buildings, which dates back to the 1200s. St Mary’s does not receive any regular funding from the Church of England, the city council or any other source, and relies solely on volunteer fundraising to keep the building open.

Despite a significant fundraising drive and improvement works in recent years, which have given St Mary’s a new lease of life, the church building still requires works with an estimated cost of over £800,000, including tower parapet and pinnacle, clerestory and roof parapet pinnacle repairs. 

• Tickets booked in advance by August 30 cost £8 and £6 for under-25s and those registered as a Friend of St Mary’s. Tickets on the door cost £10. Online booking is available here.