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The Women’s Institute – how it all started

Puriton Women’s Institute

How it all Started

The first Women's Institute was formed in 1897 in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, as a branch of the Farmer's Institute inspired by a talk given by Adelaide Hoodless.  Erland Lee, a local farmer, and his wife Janet Lee were instrumental in setting up the new organisation, supported by the Ontario Government, which appointed Laura Rose to be the first organiser in 1899.

When an avid W.I. member came to England and was heard speaking at a meeting she was asked to travel to Wales and address a meeting there.  The interesting account of the work done by the Canadian W.I. prompted the local women, in Llanfair PG on the island of Anglesey, to discuss setting up there own institute and so the first W.I was started , the date being 16^th September 1915.

It was originally set up to encourage women in the country to become more involved with producing food during the First World War and to revitalise rural communities.  The National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) was formed on 16^th October 1917, with Lady Denman being elected chairman.

In 1948 the National Federation bought Marcham House in Oxfordshire.  It was named Denman College after Lady Denman, the first NFWI chairman, and is now a short stay residential college attended by about 6,000 students every year.  These are all W.I. members, enjoying short term courses on a variety of subjects, including cooking, needlework, woodwork, painting and many more.

The national AGM is usually held at the Albert Hall, where W.I. members from all over the country attend to speakers who inform them of the resolutions that each W.I. has discussed and voted upon.  Violence against women, food waste and climate change are just some of the subjects that the W.I. have discussed and voted upon.

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Puriton Women’s Institute

There has been a Women’s Institute in Puriton for over sixty years.  It is part of the Polden Hills Group in which there are seven W.I.s.  Altogether there are 183 institutes in the Somerset Federation, with over 5,000 members, making it one of the larger federations in the UK.

Puriton W.I. meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 7.30 pm in the village hall.

People often refer to the W.I. as Jam and Jerusalem, but what is nicer than a home made scone, clotted cream and a good dollop of strawberry jam?  The W.I. markets sell some lovely home made jams and how stirring is the hymn Jerusalem, telling, as it does, of England’s green and pleasant land?

So, come as a visitor for one of the meetings, have a chat, listen to the speaker (some are serious, some are very amusing), have a cup of tea and, who knows, a new W.I. member might be in the offing.

The above information (with some minor enhancements from the editor, courtesy of the W.I. web site) was supplied by Myrtle Lipscombe – Thanks Myrtle.

If you’d like to know more about the W.I. then come along to one of the meetings and/or have a look at the W.I web site at www.thewi.org.uk

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