Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1960-2001 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
19 A boxes; 1 badge box
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The National Women's Register; 1960-fl.2007 was established in 1960 by Maureen Nicol. Nicol was a Wirral housewife who wrote in response to an article in The Guardian, 'perhaps housebound wives with liberal interests and a desire to remain individuals could form a national register so that whenever one moves one can contact like-minded friends?' This became the 'Liberal-minded Housebound Wives' Register', quickly renamed the 'Housebound Wives' Register' with Nicol as the first national organiser. Local groups were formed which organised activities autonomously but which were administered on a regional basis. A national newsletter was published giving news of group activities, spread of membership and profiles of members. When the second national organiser, Brenda Prys-Jones, took over in 1962, the organisation had grown in size but remained financially unstable. It was not until 1966 that the organisation became known as the National Housewives' Register and it was 1967 before the first National Conference was held in Buxton. The following year the first overseas groups were created in Australia and Canada. By 1970 there were 15,000 members, making it necessary to appoint joint paid National Organisers. In 1973 the Register began to undertake a process which led to the election of the first National Group at the Bristol Conference in 1976 by which time there were 800 groups and 19,000 members. 1977 saw the launch of the overseas Newsletter, 'Register Worldwide' and in 1980 the group was granted Charitable Status with: Maureen Nicol, Betty Jerman and Mary Stott appointed as trustees. That same year membership rose to 22,000 and an international conference was held in Buckinghamshire. The following year Betty Jerman published 'The Lively-Minded Women', a history of the first 20 years of NHR and by 1982 28 countries had affiliated groups. Four years later the NHR became a Charitable Company limited by guarantee while the Research Bank and the subsidised workshop scheme were also established. The organisation's name was changed to the National Women's Register in 1987 following a postal ballot of all members. However, the late 1980s saw the beginning of a gradual fall in membership that was to continue through the following decade. To combat this a process of regionalisation began which continued into the mid-1990s. By 1998 it became necessary to organise consultation days to discuss future directions which only 24% of affiliated groups attended. The choice offered was between (a) winding down, (b) appointing a professional Executive Officer or (c) a board of 5 Trustee Directors and 2/3 National Co-ordinators, with larger honoraria and the use of consultants. Option (c) was chosen by the 39% of members who returned their voting slips. The following year the lack of enough co-ordinating volunteers to maintain the National Group made it necessary to appoint paid staff to this function and the National Group was dissolved at the AGM held at the National Conference in Exeter. In 2001 Membership stood at around 7,800.
Repository
Archival history
The records were deposited by the organisation at the Women's Library in Feb 1986 and additional deposits have been made on a regular basis.
GB 106 5NWR 1960-2001 fonds 19 A boxes; 1 badge box The National Women's Register
The National Women's Register; 1960-fl.2007 was established in 1960 by Maureen Nicol. Nicol was a Wirral housewife who wrote in response to an article in The Guardian, 'perhaps housebound wives with liberal interests and a desire to remain individuals could form a national register so that whenever one moves one can contact like-minded friends?' This became the 'Liberal-minded Housebound Wives' Register', quickly renamed the 'Housebound Wives' Register' with Nicol as the first national organiser. Local groups were formed which organised activities autonomously but which were administered on a regional basis. A national newsletter was published giving news of group activities, spread of membership and profiles of members. When the second national organiser, Brenda Prys-Jones, took over in 1962, the organisation had grown in size but remained financially unstable. It was not until 1966 that the organisation became known as the National Housewives' Register and it was 1967 before the first National Conference was held in Buxton. The following year the first overseas groups were created in Australia and Canada. By 1970 there were 15,000 members, making it necessary to appoint joint paid National Organisers. In 1973 the Register began to undertake a process which led to the election of the first National Group at the Bristol Conference in 1976 by which time there were 800 groups and 19,000 members. 1977 saw the launch of the overseas Newsletter, 'Register Worldwide' and in 1980 the group was granted Charitable Status with: Maureen Nicol, Betty Jerman and Mary Stott appointed as trustees. That same year membership rose to 22,000 and an international conference was held in Buckinghamshire. The following year Betty Jerman published 'The Lively-Minded Women', a history of the first 20 years of NHR and by 1982 28 countries had affiliated groups. Four years later the NHR became a Charitable Company limited by guarantee while the Research Bank and the subsidised workshop scheme were also established. The organisation's name was changed to the National Women's Register in 1987 following a postal ballot of all members. However, the late 1980s saw the beginning of a gradual fall in membership that was to continue through the following decade. To combat this a process of regionalisation began which continued into the mid-1990s. By 1998 it became necessary to organise consultation days to discuss future directions which only 24% of affiliated groups attended. The choice offered was between (a) winding down, (b) appointing a professional Executive Officer or (c) a board of 5 Trustee Directors and 2/3 National Co-ordinators, with larger honoraria and the use of consultants. Option (c) was chosen by the 39% of members who returned their voting slips. The following year the lack of enough co-ordinating volunteers to maintain the National Group made it necessary to appoint paid staff to this function and the National Group was dissolved at the AGM held at the National Conference in Exeter. In 2001 Membership stood at around 7,800.
The records were deposited by the organisation at the Women's Library in Feb 1986 and additional deposits have been made on a regular basis.
A previous list was produced in 1991, however with the subsequent accruals it was clear that the collection needed to be sorted and catalogued in such a way as to accommodate the additional material.
The 1991 arrangement was as follows:
5NWR/A - National Groups
5NWR/B - Local Groups
5NWR/C - Circulars
5NWR/D - Publicity
5NWR/E - Press Cuttings.
The archive consists of minutes, correspondence, printed publicity material, distributional material such as newsletters and circulars (1960-1989), publicity materials (1960s-1980s); printed leaflets, press cuttings, videos, tape cassettes, slides, and biographical notes of the members of the National Group (1988).
ABBREVIATIONS
NHR National Housewives Register
NWR National Womens Register
This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.
English
The Women's Library Catalogue
'The Lively-Minded Women' by Betty Jerman can be consulted at The Women's Library (class number 305.4364906041).
Finding aid created by export from CALM v7.2.14 Archives Hub EAD2002. Edited for AIM25 by Sarah Drewery.
In compliance with ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description - 2nd Edition (1999); UNESCO Thesaurus, December 2001; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
28/01/2008 Leisure time activities Clubs Organizations Associations Womens organizations Leisure Women Jerman , Betty , fl 1950-1999 , journalist and author National Women's Register Sex Sex distribution
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
A previous list was produced in 1991, however with the subsequent accruals it was clear that the collection needed to be sorted and catalogued in such a way as to accommodate the additional material.
The 1991 arrangement was as follows:
5NWR/A - National Groups
5NWR/B - Local Groups
5NWR/C - Circulars
5NWR/D - Publicity
5NWR/E - Press Cuttings.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The archive consists of minutes, correspondence, printed publicity material, distributional material such as newsletters and circulars (1960-1989), publicity materials (1960s-1980s); printed leaflets, press cuttings, videos, tape cassettes, slides, and biographical notes of the members of the National Group (1988).
ABBREVIATIONS
NHR National Housewives Register
NWR National Womens Register
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
The Women's Library Catalogue
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
Notes area
Note
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
In compliance with ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description - 2nd Edition (1999); UNESCO Thesaurus, December 2001; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English