HISTORIANS are challenging the Victorian narrative by putting the working women of the industrial revolution in the spotlight for a new exhibition.

Long viewed as ‘the angels in the house’, Quarry Bank, in Styal, is instead showcasing women as leaders, explorers and the backbone of the mills which powered industrialisation.

Women made up the overwhelming majority of Quarry Bank’s workforce in the 1800s, but many of their stories have remained untold until now, simply because of their gender.

Experts and volunteers have spent months researching the mill’s archives, exploring women’s journals and letters, as well as censuses from the 1800s.

They have found that the Victorian and Georgian women of Quarry Bank faced a huge pay divide, a lack of available managerial positions, and issues surrounding breastfeeding and post-natal depression.

The records are now being showcased in the exhibition, titled A Woman’s Work is Never Done, and curator Ruth Colton believes its message is still significant in 2017.

“Some of these women lived more than 200 years ago, yet the issues they faced seem remarkably familiar to us today,” she said.

“They face adversity, but they are not victims – they are strong actors in their own destinies.

“I don’t know how comfortable they would have been living today because so much of their personalities is borne out of the time in which they lived.

“What will resonate with everyone who visits the exhibition is its relevance to us, and it will provoke debates about how far we have moved on.”

The exhibition, which opens on Saturday, January 21, uses art, humour and Quarry Bank’s extensive archives to focus on the women who lived and worked in the Apprentice House, as well as members of the Greg family who owned the mill.

It explores the story of Margaret Magin, an overlooker in the mill who earned a third of what her male counterparts were paid.

No woman reached a senior managerial position at the mill, but the role of an overlooker was considered to be ‘middle management’.

Another star of the exhibition is Elizabeth Greg, who as a child was given gifts of tea sets and dolls, whilst she preferred to draw maps and dream of exploring the world.

She visited India in 1898, where she photographed the Taj Mahal before setting off on a world tour.

Despite the array of experiences from the women of Quarry Bank, Ruth claims it hasn’t been easy to bring their stories to light.

She said: “The problems we had in putting this together is that most of our records of women are through their interactions with men.

“We lose these characters because of the way the records were kept, but hopefully they will no longer remain invisible because of the work everyone has put into this exhibition.”

The exhibition, which runs until Monday, April 17, also features artwork from Wilmslow High School and Styal women’s prison.

For more information visit nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank/features/a-womans-work-is-never-done-