In this series of A Brew & A Blether, we’ll be talking about our experiences collaborating with Paisley Museum, poorhouses and poverty in Renfrewshire, the legacy of slavery in Scotland, and Section 28, LGBTQ+ education and representation.
This episode will cover what life was like for people in the poorhouse in Victorian Scotland, with a focus on the lives of women. Lil Brookes, artist and social historian, will tell us more about the background to the Abbey poorhouse in Paisley, followed by a conversation with Annie Tothill, project worker at Kairos Women+, exploring how poorhouses were the beginning of the state’s responsibility to deal with poverty and how the lives of women were very much marginalised until the Suffragette movement of the early 1900s.
We will then hear from Ann Lister, Lynda McInally and Kate Clarke - members of the Making Her Mark project - a collaboration between Kairos and Glasgow Women’s Library - about their experiences researching the Abbey poorhouse and the poor law records both from home and at the Heritage Centre in Paisley. Kate wrote a narrative, imagining what life would have been like for two sisters that she discovered whilst looking through the archives, brought to life by Kairos’ volunteers Ruth and Lynda. We will leave you with a reflective reading of names of some of the women inmates of the Abbey poorhouse and asylum from the 1881 Census, whom we know existed but know very little about. Members of Kairos Women+ today invite you to remember these women and imagine some of their stories, since no further details have been documented.
A Brew & A Blether's Heritage Series was made possible through the Great Place Scheme, a project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and delivered through Renfrewshire Council. The music you’ve heard is by Lakbay Lahi, the song ‘Pag Ibig’ which means ‘love’ in Filipino. Love is central to our ethos at Kairos, and a lot of love and volunteer time goes into all of our projects. Thanks to the guests and volunteers who gave their time to make this podcast happen and a special thanks to Erskine Arts for their support, training and studio time recording and editing this series.
For more information on Paisley Museum Reimagined, visit: https://reimagined.paisleymuseum.org/
If you like what you’ve heard, you can follow us on social media and if you have any questions or comments on this series we would love to hear from you:
Email: info@kairoswomen.org
Facebook: /KairosRenfrewshire
Instagram: @kairos_women
Website: https://kairoswomen.org/
You can also find Erskine Arts on social media:
Facebook: /ErskineArts
Instagram: @erskinearts
