Community workshop offers chance to join Ada design

A community workshop is taking place offering a chance to share ideas on the design of a statue commemorating Ada Nield Chew, South Cheshire unsung hero of the suffragist movement.

‘Designing Ada’ takes place from 11.30am on Friday (February 7) at the St Mary’s Caritas Centre, Delamere Street, Crewe.

All are welcome to join in discussions on the statue design.

Ada was a 19th century Crewe factory girl who fought for the fair treatment and pay of her female colleagues and also for their right to vote.

She was in her 20s when she worked as a tailor and wrote a series of letters to the Crewe Chronicle, under the pseudonym ‘A Crewe Factory Girl,’ criticising working conditions for women and girls.

She called for a “living wage, not a dying wage” for women paid less than male counterparts and criticised unfair practices such as charging workers for tea breaks.

Campaigners want to see a statue in memory of Ada installed in Crewe and are crowdfunding to cover costs.

Renowned figurative sculptor Hazel Reeves, creator of the ‘Rise Up, Women’ Emmeline Pankhurst statue in Manchester, is joining the event on Friday to talk design.

Kate Blakemore, of Wistaston, chair of the campaign group, said: “When I first heard about Ada, I couldn’t believe that there was hardly anything in Crewe.

“Our aim is to inspire the next generation of activists to come through, to use their voice to influence change.

“The Designing Ada event is open to all. Come along and help us to plan and design what our Ada statue should look like.

“We want this to be a community statue and your voice will be truly valued.”

The group is in talks over a site for the statue in Crewe.

As well as crowdfunding, they are staging events to fundraise and a book about the life and times of Ada will be launched in March.

It will be available to buy at the Motherwell Cheshire International Women’s Day celebration at Cheshire College, South & West on March 8.

An exhibition telling the ‘Ada – Our Crewe Factory Girl’ story is touring Crewe and Nantwich.

For more information go to the ‘A Statue for Ada‘ Facebook page.