People of notE
Women who made Macclesfield
Behind the scenes at Macclesfield Silk Museum, there are boxes of delights, full of unusual objects, beautifully designed silks and carefully recorded notes. We only know a little about the people who used and made these treasures. Who were Annie, Edith and Amy? Why have we saved their letters, drawings and photographs? The History Hunters unravelled the threads of three women’s stories
Three women, who shared the same first name, came from very different walks of life, but they influenced many women’s lives in Macclesfield. As we discover their interests and influence, we invite you to enjoy a little glimpse of the three Annies.
Annie Sutton: artist, designer and embroiderer 1892-1977
We found some of her letters and delightful watercolour sketches, but trying to find out who Annie really was and why her personal belongings had been saved depended on newspaper reports and census information we found through the library archives.
She was born in Macclesfield in 1892 and lived in a small cottage in Steeple Street with her grandparents and brother and sister. Her parents lived next door. Her father was a stonemason and later owned quarries in Higher Hurdsfield.
Annie was a star pupil at the prestigious Macclesfield School of Art and she was clearly a talented student, winning prizes and a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in South Kensington. As an adult, she shared her love of art and design with the women of Macclesfield, enabling them to create banners for their own special groups. Look out for Annie’s banners in St Michael’s Church in our town.
Annie Whiston 1900, thanks to Thelma WhistonAnnie Whiston: marching for women’s votes 1868-1961
Annie Whiston was born in Langley, daughter of William Whiston who was responsible for expanding silk production in the village. With the Macclesfield Suffrage Society, she attended the triumphal suffrage procession of women in London in 1911. She walked with the women of Macclesfield who embroidered the Macclesfield suffrage banner you can see here.
She encouraged and enabled women to strive for equality in a world where they were completely unrepresented in decision making for society.
Thanks to the library resources, we have been given a glimpse of a life that was not only committed to improving women’s lives, but adventurous. She travelled widely, with destinations as far apart as Bombay and British Columbia and as different as Egypt and New York City. These must have been worlds apart from Macclesfield, but I wonder what she brought back to the town when she returned?
Annie Ryle-Wright: much loved and admired 1863-1946
Annie Ryle-Wright was very much a Macclesfield woman. Born in 1863, her father was a silk manufacturer, so she must have seen the changing fortunes of people working in the silk industry as they faced continual boom and bust. Britain’s social and political circumstances were changing very fast, working life in the mills was often troubled and poverty was evident in the streets of the town. Indeed, her sister emigrated to America when she married the son of a Macclesfield man who had left our town to produce silk in a more favourable context.
How did Annie respond to the challenges she saw? Annie was passionate about the lives of woman, dedicating her time to the Macclesfield Branch of the Women’s Suffrage Society. We know very little about her contribution to the town, but her obituary notes that she was very active in supporting many worthy causes in the town and very much loved and admired.