Beeston unveils first historical plaque honouring a woman

Eleanor Littlewood was nominated by the public to be the first woman to be get a plaque in Beeston
By Tommy Bonnet
The first historical plaque in Beeston dedicated to a woman has been unveiled – after 22 men had already been given the honour.
The area has had the the scheme since 2009 to mark the lives of local people who have made a difference throughout history.
However in 2023 organisers Beeston and District Civic Society realised none of them honoured local women – instead highlighting 22 men and 12 landmarks.
It then launched an initiative on International Women’s Day for people to propose candidates for the first female recipient.
This honour has gone to Eleanor Littlewood MBE, who was the first female chairwoman of the local council and dedicated her life to public service – notably being a founding member of the first infant welfare centre in the area.

Tamar Feast of the Civic Society said: “She was really pioneering in that regard and obviously day-to-day decisions that she was making impacted people’s lives.
“She is a true Beestonian, she was born here, lived here all her life, worked here as a public servant, and died here when she was 83.”
The society is planning more plaques for local women, with more than a dozen other names being considered.
Nan Green, an Beeston native who was an activist and humanitarian working for relief in hospitals throughout the Spanish Civil War and Second World War, is soon to be put up.
Dr Winfred Thompson – the only female GP in Beeston for many years, is also under consideration.
Plaques such as Ms Littlewood’s are funded through money raised by the civic society, and membership fees go towards the cost – anywhere from £400 to £1,000.
The campaign ‘Plaques for Women’ by English Heritage, who run the London blue plaques scheme, was initially launched in 2016 to encourage more nominations.
In London, women make up for only 16 per cent of plaques around the city, and account for only a third of nominations. Similarly, of the 17 plaques on a Nottingham city centre Civic Society trail, none are dedicated to women.
Ms Feast said: “People like to understand a little bit about the people who lived where they come from, and it’s important that that record is as true and as broad as it can be.
“So we need more women to be on plaques so that people know that women lived here to say ‘she had a name and this is what she did’.”
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