Feathers, Fashion and Feminism: How the RSPB was founded

How the RSPB was founded

This is the story of a campaign which started at a Victorian tea party and ended with the founding of Britain’s largest nature conservation charity and an Act of Parliament piloted through by a determined woman in 1921. In this talk by Tessa Boase, explores how the foundation of the RSPB was prompted by a stylish hat for a fashionable Edwardian lady which stirred controversy and came to be known as ‘murderous millinery’. RAMM’s collection includes several examples of murderous millinery which will feature in the talk, but this is really the story of the women who fought the successful fight.

Tessa Boase is a social historian and journalist. Her books include The Housekeeper’s Tale: the women who really ran the English country house, and more recently Etta Lemon: the woman who saved the birds. She is a regular broadcaster and gripping speaker, sharing her passion for original research and storytelling.