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March is the perfect month to celebrate Women's History, and I can't think of a better way than shining a light on some of the most influential women who were born or lived right here in Devon. Many faced adversities and became the first woman in their area to accomplish outstanding achievements, earning them international recognition for their work.
Known globally as "The Queen of Crime", Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890. Told by her mother not to read until the age of 8, her curiosity meant she was an avid reader by 4. She progressed through the arts, attending school in Paris for performance after her father's death, before turning to literature and writing. Her works feature the beloved detective characters Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, and she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature degree by the University of Exeter in 1961.
Mary Anning, though living in Dorset, worked extensively around Lyme Regis and the Jurassic coast, which extends into East Devon. Her father supplemented their income by selling fossils from the cliff beds to tourists, and Mary carried on his work after his death. At just 12, she and her brother unearthed a skeleton later identified as an Ichthyosaur, a previously unknown marine reptile. Her work helped changed scientific thinking about prehistoric life and the history of earth as she continued working in palaeontology. As a woman, she couldn't join the Geological Society of London and rarely received credit for her contributions, with male friends selling prints of her fossils on her behalf. Only after her death was her story truly brought to light.
As the first woman to sit as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons, American-born Lady Nancy Astor won her husband's former seat of Plymouth Sutton in 1919, advocating for welfare, education reform, and women's rights. Though some views in her later years proved controversial, she paved the way for every woman who followed her into parliament to have their voices heard.
American heiress Dorothy Payne Whitney may have been born in Washington D.C., but Devon is where she truly made her mark. She married Englishman Leonard Elmhirst in 1925, and together they restored the medieval Dartington Hall estate in Totnes into a pioneering centre for arts, education, and social reform. Dorothy co-founded the Dartington College of Arts there, which thrived for nearly 50 years before merging with University College Falmouth in 2010 after financial difficulty. Its performing arts programmes found a new home at the Cornish Penryn Campus, shared today between Falmouth University and the University of Exeter.
Born in Newton Abbot in 1877, Dr Ivy Williams broke through one of the largest obstacles of her time. Despite completing her law examinations in 1903, she couldn't receive her Oxford degree until 1920, when the University finally began awarding degrees to women. On 10 May 1922, she became the first woman called to the Bar of England and Wales, a moment the Law Journal called "one of the most memorable days in the long annals of the legal profession." She also became the first woman to teach law at an English university and in 1923 the first to be awarded a Doctor of Civil Law at Oxford. Though she never practised, her dedication to her profession as a woman inspired generations to follow.
These are just a few of Devon’s hidden figures, but their courage and persistence still shape the opportunities we have today. I hope their powerful stories have inspired you as much as they have inspired me.
Written by: Tabby Skivington