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Helen Antrobus

@helenantro.bsky.social
504 followers 366 following 73 posts

📚 Curator & historian working for a big conservation charity, nattering about 20th c women, political and landscape histories (sometimes all at once). 🎧 Presenter and giddy kipper of #BackWhen, the National Trust's history pod: shorturl.b

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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
When does the research stop and the writing begin? I can make the most meticulous plan, have every note, reference, chapter in front of me, and still only write one sentence before finding a new rabbit hole. Anyway, here's some wild strawberries from my run #historian
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The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) @themerl.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Want to know what it's like to work in museums? Simply watch the Indiana Jones films, and then dismiss everything you've seen
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Snapshots from a recent whirlwind trip down to the V&A to see #Schiaparelli. I would have loved to leave knowing more about the woman, but I adored the curatorial lens on the dresses, materials, and icongraphies themselves. A selection from my dream wardrobe:
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
It's 100 years since the General Strike! If you are interested in women's history, trade union history and are around Manchester, do join us for a morning of talks, tea and banners (of course) on 14th March at the Mechanics Institute. FREE www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/manchester...
eventbrite.co.uk
Manchester Women and the General Strike: 100 Years On
Join us for the 5th Annual Margaret Ashton lecture celebrating the forgotten women of Greater Manchester's rich history.
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Dr Lindsey Fitzharris @drlindseyfitz.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
I remember posting this headline before the US election and someone said to me: “what happened to you?! You used to be the weird medical historian and now you have TDS. We don’t want your political opinions.” As if a historian could stay quiet in this moment. Anyway, keep shouting everyone.
A headline all in caps that reads TRUMP SAYS HE WILL PROSECUTE HIS ENEMIES ORDER MASS DEPORTATIONS USE SOLDIERS AGAINST CITIZENS ABANDON ALLIES PLAY POLITICS WITH DISASTERS BELIEVE HIM
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
It's 100 years since the General Strike! If you are interested in women's history, trade union history and are around Manchester, do join us for a morning of talks, tea and banners (of course) on 14th March at the Mechanics Institute. FREE www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/manchester...
eventbrite.co.uk
Manchester Women and the General Strike: 100 Years On
Join us for the 5th Annual Margaret Ashton lecture celebrating the forgotten women of Greater Manchester's rich history.
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Teresa Doherty @dohertyta.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
You can still REGISTER to join me @womenshistnet.bsky.social Conference 📢 Thurs 4 & Fri 5 Sep 2025 This year 'tis FREE 💰 & online 🖥️ Looking forward to @helenantro.bsky.social @satisfactory20.bsky.social among many others! A #WomensHistory feast of papers womenshistorynetwork.org/the-womens-h...
womenshistorynetwork.org
The Women’s History Network Annual Conference
Women’s History Network 33rd Annual Conference  Online via Zoom    Thursday 4 & Friday 5 September 2025 Hidden in Plain Sight: Women in Archives, Libraries, Museums and Personal Collections Reg…
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Natalie Haynes @nataliehaynes.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
You know what the best part of my job is? Being in museums before they open
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/vir...
nationaltrust.org.uk
Back When history podcast
Be transported through time with the National Trust's new history podcast, Back When. With stories from across the ages, there are many episodes to discover.
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Intruiged by a graveyard of ships, local hauntings and some marine archaeology? Listen to the latest episode of #BackWhen, the @nationaltrust.org.uk history podcast! www.instagram.com/reel/DKOvBrJ...
instagram.com
Login • Instagram
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
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Philippa Vishnyakov @revealmcr.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
This week in 1584 Manchester Court Leet banned single women of the town from carrying out their own trades including selling ale or bread, as these activities were ‘to the great hurt of the poor inhabitants having wives and children’. The punishment was a fine or imprisonment.
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National Museum of Ireland @nmireland.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Camogie sportswear has evolved dramatically, reflecting broader changes in women's sportswear and celebrating strides towards equality and functionality. NMI Curator Siobhán Doyle dives into camogie kits' history and current controversies. www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
Illustration of new camogie uniforms suggested by fashion designer Neillí Mulcahy (1969) on display at the GAA: People, Objects & Stories exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks. 
© National Museum of IrelandMaeve Gilroy's tweed camogie dress that she wore playing for Antrim in the 1960s (DT:2023.11) © National Museum of Ireland on display at the GAA: People, Objects & Stories exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks. 
© National Museum of Ireland
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
If you're a #scifi fan, this is the Back When episode for you - exploring the history of #HGWells and his family ties to Uppark House. How did the twists and turns of this country house inspire his writings? Tune in!! open.spotify.com/episode/75cs...
open.spotify.com
H.G. Wells | The Father of Science Fiction
Back When | History Podcast · Episode
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Can't wait to read, congratulations @corinnefowler.bsky.social!
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Podcast Delivery @podcastdelivery.com · 11/04/2025
Join historians @helenantro.bsky.social and James Grasby as they unveil the stories behind history's remarkable people, places, and events. From the Great Stink of London to Britain's space race, explore the tales that shaped our past and define our present. From @nationaltrust.bsky.social.
Back When | History Podcast
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
IT'S HERE! #BackWhen has landed on all good podcast platforms! In this episode we go from the @sciencemuseumldn.bsky.social to the High Down testing facilities on the Isle of Wight, tracing the story of the Black Arrow rocket. Listen, rate, comment, share! open.spotify.com/episode/5JmA...
open.spotify.com
Black Arrow Rocket | When Britain joined the Space Race
Back When | History Podcast · Episode
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
IT'S HERE! #BackWhen has landed on all good podcast platforms! In this episode we go from the @sciencemuseumldn.bsky.social to the High Down testing facilities on the Isle of Wight, tracing the story of the Black Arrow rocket. Listen, rate, comment, share! open.spotify.com/episode/5JmA...
open.spotify.com
Black Arrow Rocket | When Britain joined the Space Race
Back When | History Podcast · Episode
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Working Class Movement Library @wcmlibrary.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
We are delighted to be a part of the #GeneralStrike 100 anniversary national partnership with other museums, libraries, archives and groups. Find out how you can support this partnership here: bit.ly/GeneralStrike100 #GeneralStrike100
A poster using an image of people protesting during the 1926 General Strike against a red and black graphic background. Includes a logo '100 General Strike 1926-2026' and the logos of the participating organisations.
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
Somebody needs to tell the Mail Online that the plot details for Wuthering Heights were unfortunately leaked over 150 years ago
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
Somebody needs to tell the Mail Online that the plot details for Wuthering Heights were unfortunately leaked over 150 years ago
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
🎉 80 YEARS OF LOSE HILL The industrial working classes of Sheffield & Manchester were imperative to the early aquisitions of the National Trust, and GHB Ward - rambler, activist & steelworkers - embodies that story. Follow his journey to Lose Hill: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/peak-d...
nationaltrust.org.uk
Lose Hill 80th Anniversary Walk from Hope | National Trust
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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
#DYK that years before some women were given the franchise in 1918, one woman, Lily Maxwell, actually voted in an election? Find out how in this article, originally posted on the @victoriancommons.bsky.social website: #WHM historyofparliament.com/2025/03/14/l...
historyofparliament.com
‘A woman actually voted!’: Lily Maxwell and the Manchester by-election of November 1867 - The History of Parliament
More than half a century before the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918, Lily Maxwell, a Manchester shopkeeper, cast a parliamentary vote. Dr Kathryn Rix
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Last week, People's History Museum invited me to give a tour, selecting my favourite objects on display. I had to pick the Suffragette's Home poster and, from almost 100 years earlier, Cruikshank's 'Belle Alliance'. So pertinent to the misogyny and rollback to 'trad-wives' we see today.
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Louvain Rees ⚰️ @hellohistoria.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
It's #WomensHistoryMonth 🎉 As usual, I'll be sharing ordinary women's stories. I like writing about these women. They didn't do anything the world would deem spectacular. They were just everyday people going about their lives. Surviving the way they knew best. #History
This black-and-white photograph depicts two women walking along a street carrying large wicker baskets. They are dressed in late 19th-century attire, with long skirts and shawls.

The street is lined with terraced houses featuring iron railings, and a gas street lamp is visible in the background.
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Happy publication day @kerriandrewsuk.bsky.social! Kerri's books have inspired so much of my own work, and I cannot wait to read her stunning memoir.
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
It's here! The trailer for #BackWhen, a new podcast from the @nationaltrust.bsky.social, which I'm presenting with the wonderful James Grasby. Join us as we encounter shipwrecks, satellites, plague and so much more... Arriving in April! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
podcasts.apple.com
Back When | History Podcast
History Podcast · 1 Episodes · Updated Biweekly
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
It's here! The trailer for #BackWhen, a new podcast from the @nationaltrust.bsky.social, which I'm presenting with the wonderful James Grasby. Join us as we encounter shipwrecks, satellites, plague and so much more... Arriving in April! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
podcasts.apple.com
Back When | History Podcast
History Podcast · 1 Episodes · Updated Biweekly
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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 10/03/2025
The 19th-century Gaelic poet & songwriter Màiri Nic a’ Phearsain (Mary MacPherson) – known as Màiri Mhòr nan Òran (Great Mary of the Songs) – was born #OTD, 10 March 1821. Much of her work was political & was especially focused on the struggle for land rights 1/3 www.thenational.scot/news/1914541...
thenational.scot
Celebrating one of our greatest Gaelic poets: Màiri Mhòr nan Òran
LAST week I said I would be writing about the early years of the Union after 1707 and telling the untold story – never mentioned by the Unionists…
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Jonna Nyman @jknyman.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Maternity pay in the UK is an absolute shambles, with statutory maternity pay at around 45% of minimum wage and 3months with no entitlement even to that:
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
Bridestones Moor on a hazy Sunday morning.
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
researching the histories of open space activism in Manchester & Salford has changed how I connect with my hometown, a place where I once thought my love for hills, heather, moorland and open air was irrelevant. I'm excited to share some of these stories on 19th March: www.wtlgi.co/programme-of...
wtlgi.co
Talk: Helen Antrobus 'A Grand Place to Escape From' — Where The Light Gets In
Wednesday the 19th of March from 18:00 at Altogether Otherwise 'A Grand Place to Escape From' ‘It is a well-known paradox that love of nature is the strongest in places from which nature has been m...
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Museums Association @museumsassociation.org · 06/03/2025
News | Record rise in the number of low-paid jobs recorded in 2024 – arts sector has one of the highest rates of low-paid jobs in the UK, Living Wage Foundation (@livingwageuk.bsky.social) reveals
museumsassociation.org
Record rise in the number of low-paid jobs recorded in 2024 - Museums Association
Arts sector has one of the highest rates of low-paid jobs in the UK, Living Wage Foundation reveals
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Celia Richardson @celiarichardson.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
National Trust membership for a family costs £14.05 a month. A Telegraph subscription costs £104 a month. And don’t get me started on the quality of the product.
telegraph.co.uk
National Trust raises fees to £3,000 for family life memberships
Charity squeezes an extra 25pc from members over three years
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
researching the histories of open space activism in Manchester & Salford has changed how I connect with my hometown, a place where I once thought my love for hills, heather, moorland and open air was irrelevant. I'm excited to share some of these stories on 19th March: www.wtlgi.co/programme-of...
wtlgi.co
Talk: Helen Antrobus 'A Grand Place to Escape From' — Where The Light Gets In
Wednesday the 19th of March from 18:00 at Altogether Otherwise 'A Grand Place to Escape From' ‘It is a well-known paradox that love of nature is the strongest in places from which nature has been m...
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
suffrage & pancakes 🥞
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Paging @nationaltrust.bsky.social & @celiarichardson.bsky.social - courtesey of Manchester Archives, here's a 50 year old membership card belonging to Shena Simon, feminist pioneer, big National Trust fan, and distant relation of a certain Miss Potter! Such chic membership cards in the 70s...
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Such a special day at work. Talking all things plague, 17th century lockdowns, myths, folklore and community. It has to be Eyam...
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
a week in the Peak ❤️
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
@manchesterup.bsky.social are too kind, sending me three stunning advance copies to get my teeth into. Starting the week with Wildly Different by @sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social, a book that I've been very much looking forward to!
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Philippa Vishnyakov @revealmcr.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
16 February 1753 Jacobite Thomas Deacon died. His tomb, in St Ann’s churchyard, Manchester declares him ‘the greatest of sinners’. The head of his son, executed for his role in the 1745 Rebellion to reclaim throne, was displayed on Manchester Exchange as a warning to potential traitors.
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National Trust @nationaltrust.org.uk · 14/02/2025
Beatrix Potter's 'The Tale of Two Bad Mice' comes to life at her former farmhouse, Hill Top in Cumbria 🐭 Over 300 hours of conservation work has recently been carried out on Potter's former doll's house, which has seen scenes from the 1904 novel come to life 🧵
Artwork from Potter's "Tale of Two Bad Mice" (1904). Two mice , Hunca Munca and Tom Thumb, are seen preparing food at a dining table. 

📸 Jaron James
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Beatrix Potter doll's house to go back on display at Hill Top
The contents of the house, which will be on show at Hill Top, feature in The Tale Of Two Bad Mice.
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
This daffodil detective article made me smile so much this morning 🏵️ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Daffodil hunt: The search for rare flowers lost from history
As daffodils burst into bloom, experts want help in finding rare treasures hiding in plain sight.
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Women's History Network @womenshistnet.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
The aim of the WHN’s 33rd annual conference is to explore & celebrate the challenges & opportunities of uncovering the presence of women within archives, libraries, museums & personal collections. See the call for papers here: womenshistorynetwork.org/whn-annual-c... #WomensHistory #GenderHist #CPF
womenshistorynetwork.org
WHN Annual Conference 2025, Call for Papers
First Call for Papers Women’s History Network 33rd Annual Conference  Online via Zoom    Thursday 4 & Friday 5 September 2025 Hidden in Plain Sight: Women in Archives, Libraries, Museums and Pe…
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
In heaven seeing this portrait of Elizabeth Craven depicting the most deliciously beautiful 17th century embroidery. Butterflies, flowers, bugs and birds feature in the design. Imagine if the dress had survived? 🦋 🐛🐌🌺🐞 Powis Castle, @nationaltrust.bsky.social
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
In heaven seeing this portrait of Elizabeth Craven depicting the most deliciously beautiful 17th century embroidery. Butterflies, flowers, bugs and birds feature in the design. Imagine if the dress had survived? 🦋 🐛🐌🌺🐞 Powis Castle, @nationaltrust.bsky.social
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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
#OTD 1918, The Representation of the People Act received royal assent. The Act gave the parliamentary vote to some women for the first time as well as millions of previously excluded working men. This article by @emmapeplow.bsky.social explains all:
buff.ly
The Representation of the People Act, 1918: A radical reform measure bill - The History of Parliament
This is the second in our blog series, women and parliament in this, the centenary year of the Representation of the People Act 1918. Here at the History of
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Calling all #Manchester #history friends - please do join us at the Mechanics for the Margaret Ashton Lecture. We love celebrating women's lives across Greater Manchester who so often are overshadowed - Shena Simon was a true trailblazer and we can't wait to champion her story! t.co/4R9TS2dsuB
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Helen Antrobus @helenantro.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
a magical morning on the moors 🌅 we are so lucky having the Pennine Way on our doorstep #Yorkshire
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