Nautical women – women sailors and the women of sailortowns.
This talk explores the stories of women whose lives were inextricably linked to the sea. These include the women of sailortowns struggling to keep out of the dreaded workhouse and resisting the prowling press gangs; and of the courageous and skilful cross-dressing women sailors, some of Bristol, who went to extraordinary lengths to hide their gender. The stories of these women challenge our stereotypes of women in earlier societies and reveal the courage of those who ‘ran away to sea’ by […]