Friends of Edith Rigby

05/06/2026

Lytham’s Suffragette, Nurse and Guardian of the Poor - The Forgotten Life of Mary Johnson

We are very busy at the moment working on our funded projects which will allow us to display the stories of the Preston WSPU branch.

In the meantime, here is a little bit about one of the women we’re including in our interpretation. Mary Johnson worked alongside Edith Rigby to broaden the reach of the WSPU - successfully running the Lytham and St Anne’s district.

31/05/2026

Look at this special piece by Simon - we love it SO much!

We think Edith would’ve loved it too💜🤍💚

The House of Edith Rigby, 28 Winckley Square

1872-1950
Suffragette secretary of Preston Branch Women's Social and Political Union.

Friends of Edith Rigby

22/05/2026

WE HAVE FUNDING 🙏 🥳

So excited to share that we have received two lots of funding - one from Uni of Lancashire and the other from Uni of Warwick in connection with Mapping Suffrage.

This funding will allow us to produce good quality, engaging interpretation boards to share the stories of the Preston WSPU beyond history books and into public memory. It’ll also fund future projects/workshops that we have in the works with some VERY exciting companies.

We are a voluntary organisation who are committed to all of the women we’ve researched - here are some overviews of just a few of the women whose stories we will be sharing thanks to these funded opportunities.

DEEDS NOT WORDS

07/05/2026

Do the suffragettes proud… Remember to vote today!

Tag us with your polling station selfie!

10/04/2026

The statues are hoped to be "an inspiration for the children" of Preston- full story & pics below⬇️

10/04/2026

09/04/2026

We had the absolute pleasure of attending a wonderful unveiling of the new bronze sculptures of Edith Rigby and Richard Arkwright this evening with the wonderful people of Preston 💜🤍 💚big thanks to Peter Hodgkinson for creating such amazing sculptures and to Wilf Boardman for funding them!

Preston ought to be very Proud tonight! 💙🩵

(Of course in all the fangirling over Edith we didn’t get a pic of Richard, woops)

The Harris Friends of Winckley Square Gardens Preserving Preston’s Heritage Preston Historical Society Preston City Council

22/03/2026

Get involved! 💚🤍💜

Calling all herstory lovers, women’s suffrage nerds, and supporters of women’s rights!

HerVote100 is coordinating nationwide celebrations for the 2028 centenary of ALL women getting the vote!

Interested? Get in touch: [email protected]