AN ambitious project has been launched to honour the women past and present who have made their mark on Teesdale.
A recently formed group aims to compile a comprehensive list of ladies whose names will then be stitched into the fabric of a new banner.
Organisers – who have set up The Teesdale Banner group – are now looking for people to come forward with the names of those who should be included.
Suggestions can be written in notebooks at the No 15 Cafe and Curlew’s bookshop, in Market Place, Barnard Castle.
Cafe and bookshop proprietor Emma Rowell, one of the banner group’s members, said the project coincided with the centenary of limited women’s suffrage.
It also followed on from a march through the town earlier this year by women from Barnard Castle Labour Party and other supporters to encourage women to vote.
“We had heard there was a group of women from Durham City and North West Durham talking about making a banner and to revive that tradition, I went to a meeting where this was talked about,” said Ms Rowell.
A get-together in Barnard Castle was convened to see if there was any interest in producing a banner for the women of Teesdale at which the group was formed.
Ros Evans, another member of the group, said one of the aims of the project was to bring together some of the themes of women’s suffrage and encourage women’s participation in Teesdale life.
The finished banner could be used on public occasions to engage women, she added.
Initial designs for the banner have been drawn up.
One side would feature a powerful message while the other would be much more pastoral, representing the Teesdale landscape.
The idea is to use slips of fabric adorned with women’s names to build up the finished banner design.
Ms Rowell said: “It can be women from throughout history and modern times. It can be anyone from the milk lady to the lollipop lady – anyone who has made a difference to someone. One of the things we are fighting against here is that there are not many women commemorated.”
Although the scheme started out with the local Labour Party, Ms Rowell said the banner project was non-political.
“We are wanting this to be a community project. It is more about engaging women. We are creating something that is robust and something that will last.”
Although just starting out, the group has begun working with one of the fabric conservators at The Bowes Museum, who will help ensure the banner is built to last.
Once complete, the group hopes the banner will be housed at Woodleigh, on Scar Top, Barnard Castle Town Council’s headquarters.
The group has received donations from Barnard Castle outfitters Brookes and the town’s Boyes store, and further donations of fabric of any colour will be welcome.
Anyone interested in suggesting names for the banner can simply call in at Curlew’s bookshop, in Market Place, during opening hours.
For more details about the project, contact Ms Rowell at No 15 Cafe.
