Sitting with 30 other women may not feel like much, but for some it can be “lifesaving”. Harwood Ladies has been a place for women to connect since 1966, when it was part of the National Housewives Register. In 1960, Maureen Nicol wrote a letter responding to an article about housewives “squeezed like sardines in suburbia”.
She wanted a place for housewives to have stimulating conversations – free of talk of nappies or baby formula. After her call to arms, women formed National Housewives Register groups across the country. Harwood Ladies group on a canal cruise on Wigan pier (Image: Wendy Houghton) And Harwood Ladies became one of them.
Wendy Houghton, the group's organiser, said: “It started as a release for young stay-at-home mothers to come out of an evening and expand their mind.” Later, the charity was renamed the National Women’s Register in 1987, three years after Wendy had joined Harwood Ladies, intent on making friends in Bradshaw. For years, Harwood Ladies has been a place for women to connect and learn.
And members have stayed over the years. Now the average age is 75, with the oldest being 89. And Wendy has been there for 40 years, becoming its organiser 10 years ago.
Wendy, 76, said: “We meet monthly and discuss numerous subjects. “We usually have guest speakers that activates our minds, like Bolton Mountain Rescue, which showed us resuscitation techniques or Dr Jane Wilcock who told us about Friends of Harwood and Longsight Park. “There ar.