Bolsover Parish Church
Fame, Fashion and Fortune – the Women of Bolsover 
The project is about researching and developing the stories of the notable women who have made their impression of the Town of Bolsover since the Elizabethan period - over 300 years of influence.
1.Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, Mother of Charles Cavendish, builder of Bolsover Castle.
2. Lady Arbella Stuart was an English noblewoman who was considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Granddaughter of Bess of Hardwick and niece of Charles Cavendish
3. Margaret Lucas Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne was an English aristocrat, philosopher, poet, scientist, fiction-writer, and playwright.
4. Baron Bolsover, of Bolsover Castle in the County of Derby, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 23 April 1880 (as Baroness Bolsover) for Augusta Cavendish-Bentinck.
5. The female pioneer of Etruscology, Elizabeth Caroline Hamilton Gray (1801– 1887)
6. The Vicar of Bolsover’s wife, Mrs Frances Emily Webb-Peploe, noted for ‘her intellectual gifts and beauty of character’, lived at the old Vicarage on High Street, Bolsover. She was actively supported by her husband the Reverend Francis Hanmer Webb-Peploe, who was sometimes described as ‘a suffragette in trousers’. Frances Emily worked tirelessly to improve the conditions of women, to promote women’s suffrage and representation both in Parliament and also in the governance of the Church of England.
7. Nurse Margaret Elizabeth Bramfitt VAD, was a WW1 decorated nurse and Christian worker in Bolsover Methodist Church and Sunday School. Died in 1918 aged 35. Commemorated on Bolsover War Memorial
8. Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell (16 June 1873 – 21 April 1938) was an English aristocrat and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befriended writers including Aldous Huxley, Siegfried Sassoon, T. S. Eliot and D. H. Lawrence, and artists including Mark Gertler, Dora Carrington and Gilbert Spencer.
9. Maid Marian – of Robin Hood fame
10. Alicia de Lancaster 1088 -1150 – laid the foundations for the first Bolsover Church.
11. Duchess Winifred – 1863 – 1954, British Humanitarian and animal welfare activist.

​The project (awarded £49,000) is about raising awareness of women's roles and how they have changed through time. With the increasing emphasis upon women's roles being on an equal basis in society with men, we hope by delivering the project it will raise the profile why attitudes have changed. In a traditional mining and heavy industry area stereotyping can easy be seen and we hope this project will help break down barriers and indeed inspire people.
 

 
Thanks to National Lottery players, the project aims to deliver
  • Workshops to create 11 period costumes in partnership with the local schools, community groups and church members.
  • Young and older people will work together to discover the local significance of these women and will culminate in a touring exhibition, performance show and celebratory booklet to be produced at the end of the project. 
 
The project is due to start March 2022 and finish in March 2024.
 
Commenting on the award, Reverend Rachel Gouldthorpe said: “We’re delighted that we’ve received this support thanks to National Lottery players. The Parish Church has played an important part of the Town’s heritage. It’s great to know that we are able to convey our heritage, not only to our community but those further afield through our project with the exhibition. We are also very grateful for the support that Graysons Solicitors have given in supporting the match funding for our project.”