A Change is in the (Ch)air!
We are delighted to announce that Professor Karen Hunt has been elected as the new Chair of Bridport Museum Trust.
Karen takes up the reins from George Streatfeild who recently began his term of office as High Sheriff for Dorset. George led the Museum through its big redevelopment, and happily is still remaining on the Board of Trustees.
Karen has quickly become well recognised in the town: elected as one of Bridport’s Green Town Councillors, she has also taken part in ‘Flea’ and become one of Martin Maudsley’s ‘Mummers’.
That all leaves just bit of time for Karen to remain an active historian, having retired from teaching at Keele University where she was Professor of Modern British History. Karen continues to publish books and articles on women’s history in Britain and beyond, and continues to be fascinated by uncovering the relationship between women’s activism and everyday life. This has included looking at daily shopping and socialist women before WW1, women and the politics of food during the war and the representation of the housewife in the years after the war.
Inevitably, Karen quickly became fascinated with Bridport’s own rich heritage, and became involved with Bridport Museum. In 2018 she led a team of volunteers in unearthing stories of local women during WWI, which later became the Museum’s exhibition ‘Home Front, Home.’ The project grew, and Karen gave a series of popular afternoon talks on various aspects of the Bridport Home Front, as well as bringing together historians for a study day exploring local women’s activism. With the help of Bridport’s fabulously creative Holly Miller, she recreated the banner of West Dorset Women’s Suffrage Society which was paraded at the annual Tolpuddle Martyrs Rally. This led to the formation of Bridport Women’s History Group which now meets monthly.
Museum Director Emily Hicks said: ‘We invited Karen to become a Trustee in particular because she loves sharing these new approaches to Bridport’s past. As well as her impressive academic credentials, most of all Karen bring her passion for history and for Bridport. I know that Karen is ambitious for the Museum, in particular to make its exhibitions, collections and events as relevant, accessible and fascinating for a wide range of people.’
Karen said: ‘I love to challenge what we think we know about our past. We are living through historic times, and ‘on the other side’ of this crisis it will be more important than ever for Bridport to have friendly, engaging and thought-provoking places to help us connect with, and understand our past.’