Rare sketch showing women's exclusion from political debate 200 years ago to be displayed in Parliament

The sketch, attributed to Lady Georgiana Chatterton c.1821, depicts the ventilator, an attic space above the old House of Commons Chamber that women used to observe political debates, after their exclusion from the public galleries in 1778.

It will go on display for the first time in Voice and Vote: “Women's Place in Parliament” which will open on 27 June 2018. It is on loan to Parliament from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which holds extensive local historic collections relating to the playwright's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon and South Warwickshire. The exhibition will tell the story of women and parliament through immersive and interactive technologies to help recreate lost historic spaces that were used by women in the Palace of Westminster. It will include key historic objects from Parliamentary collections and significant loans from around the UK.

Amy Galvin-Elliott, a PhD student working on a joint project between Warwick University and the Parliamentary Archives, said:

“The discovery of this watercolour of the ventilator is an exciting moment in the telling of the ‘her-story' of women in Parliament.
“The ventilator is a complex symbol of both political subjugation and, paradoxically, the determination and perseverance of women. At a time when we are commemorating the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, the ventilator is still a pertinent symbol, and we have much to learn by looking back to it.”

The sketch was discovered after being shared on Twitter. It was recognised as an image of the House of Commons, including the ventilator, by senior parliamentary archivist Mari Takayanagi.

Mari Takayanagi, said:

"Back in 2015, a researcher called Simon Pickering took lots of photographs of all sorts of documents during research at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Later, he was going through them and wondered if this might be the House of Commons. He asked Twitter, and one of my colleagues spotted it. I was thrilled to recognise it as the Ventilator – it was on Christmas Eve too, a wonderful Christmas present!" 

Simon Pickering discovered it in a sketch book where Lady Georgiana collected a variety of paintings and sketches by both herself and her friends, and it was next to two tickets to Westminster Hall dated 11th July 1821. This was the day of the King's Speech to the House of Lords.

The sketch was found tucked in the back of a volume of water colours by Rebecca Dulcibella Ferrers in the extensive archives of the Baddesley Clinton Estate (1200-1981). The volume has been cared for by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust since 1992, when it was deposited by a member of the Ferrers family.

Further Information

• In addition to the ground-breaking Voice and Vote exhibition, thousands of people from across the UK are coming together to host equality themed events between 18 June and 2 July as part of the UK Parliament's EqualiTeas campaign. Visit our website for further information here.
• Further information about Voice and Vote: Women's Place in Parliament including how to get tickets is available here.