To celebrate #EthelDay 2018, RIBA is pleased to offer an evening of inspiration, education and fun on the Grain Barge, Bristol, hosted by RIBA Wessex chair Rebecca Ridge of O’LearyGoss Architects.
[UPDATE: The location for this event has moved, and it will now be held at Architecture Centre, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol, BS1 4QA]
To start the evening, Dr Sarah Whittingham will talk on Bristol’s first female architect, Eveline Dew Blacker.
‘I do not think I should favour one of my own girls taking it up as a profession’
- Eveline Blacker, Bristol’s First Female Architect
In the 1911 census of England and Wales, nearly 9,000 men described themselves as architects. In contrast, only seven women defined themselves as such. One of these was Eveline Blacker (1884-1956), who set up in practice with Harry Heathman after the First World War. Heathman & Blacker were very successful in the many competitions for public housing schemes that followed on from the War, and also designed a number of private houses and commercial buildings, but their most significant work was the Bristol cenotaph of 1932.
Architectural historian Dr Sarah Whittingham FSA will give an overview of Blacker’s life and work, and look at the factors that both prevented women from working in the fields of architecture and interior design, and led them to take an active role in those areas from the late nineteenth century onwards.
Following a drinks interval, we will then hear from three architects from Bristol on what inspired them to become an architect, their journey, their projects, and thoughts for the future.
Our city architects are Paula Willmore, Willmore Iles; Rachel Bell, Stride Treglown; and Vicky Smith from Bristol City Council.
Our evening will include light bites and a drink, and the Grain Barge offers a fully stocked bar.
Join colleagues, friends, clients and architects from across the city for this evening that celebrates the highlight the achievements of women in architecture.
Ethel Mary Charles was the first woman architect to join RIBA, in 1898. On 5 July, #EthelDay is a nationwide celebration of women in architecture.
