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    A passion for plants: women in botany

    The University Herbarium contains 60,000 preserved plant specimens, collected by some 2,000 botanists and collectors over the University’s 125-year history. Most of these collectors were men, but some 260 women also worked on this valuable archive – some well documented, others entirely unknown. My name is Lottie, and I’m currently studying an MA in Art…

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  • Women checking screws for quality, 1940s

    The GKN women that helped win the war

    Women were sometimes the unsung heroes of World War II. Working tirelessly behind the scenes to manufacture the nuts and bolts for weapons and machinery, their work contributed as much to the war effort as those on the frontline. Our curator Henrietta took a deep dive into our Guest, Keen & Nettlefold (GKN) archive to…

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    Collections Close-up: ‘Glorious Suburbs’

    Henrietta Lockhart, Winterbourne’s Collections Officer, looks at the topic of her recent lecture on Birmingham’s Glorious Suburbs. ‘Glorious suburbs!  Long may ye remain To bless the ancient town, whose crown ye are; Rewarder of the cares of those who toil Amid the din and smoke of iron-ribbed, And hardy Birmingham. And may ye long be…

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