The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade

Girton College Fire Brigade in 1889.
Image courtesy of the Mistress and Fellows of Girton College, Cambridge

Click here to read this wonderful article by journalist Katy Prickett of BBC Online Cambridgeshire, all about our musical and the real women of STEM history who inspired it!

We’ve been totally overwhelmed by the response to Katy’s piece, and to the first full production of the show at Lincoln Arts Centre on Sunday 10th May.

We’d love to get this musical out to more places around the country – including Cambridgeshire! – in addition to the mini concert series we’re doing over the summer at Cheltenham, London, South Oxfordshire and Lincoln.

If you have any ideas of how to do that… please get in touch!

We’re particularly delighted that the current Mistress of Girton College – Dr Elisabeth Kendall – has been so supportive of the show, and more than happy to highlight this extraordinary element of Girton’s radical history. A few little quotes from her are in the BBC article, but if you want to read the statement in full, here it is!

Statement from Dr Elisabeth Kendall, the Mistress of Girton College:

Girton College at the University of Cambridge was founded in 1869 as the UK’s first residential institution for women’s higher education.

As an upstart on the fringes of the Cambridge establishment, it had a habit of pushing boundaries, breaking social norms, and pioneering novel solutions to ensure its survival.

It is entirely in keeping with the College’s fearless spirit to have tackled the nineteenth century version of a risk assessment by assembling its own all-women’s fire brigade. This fearless squad of women was highly structured, with captains, sub-captains and student corridor teams. The London Fire Brigade trained them in bucket chains, rescue drills, being lowered from windows, and hose handling.

This was more than a fire brigade. It was an act of defiance. At a time when women at Cambridge were not even awarded degrees, Girton’s women were running complex organisations, problem solving and demonstrating leadership. It sent a strong message to the world that Girton was here to stay. Girton is immensely proud of its ever-present pioneering spirit.