Welcome to Mangotsfield Women's Institute

a modern voice for todays woman

WI HISTORY

The WI movement began at Stoney Creek in Canada in 1897 when Adelaide Hoodless addressed a meeting for the wives of members of the Farmers' Institute. The first British WI meeting took place on 16 September 1915 at Llanfairpwll on Anglesey in North Wales. The WI was originally set up in the UK to revitalise rural communities and to encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War. We celebrated our 90th anniversary in 2005 and today play a unique role in enabling women to gain new skills, take part in wide-ranging activities and campaign on issues that matter to them and their communities. The WI is a diverse organisation open to all women, and there are now WIs in towns and cities as well as villages. Our history pages tell the story of the Women's Institute from its origins in Canada in 1897 through to the present day. Honorary Archivist,  

Anne Stamper, provided this information using published materials, copies of the WI magazine Home and Country and other documents deposited in our archives. Our archives are kept at the Women's Library at London Metropolitan University (reference 5FWI) and are open to the public. Further  

information can also be found at the Genesis project's website which develops access to women's history sources. WI and federation records are usually kept at local county record offices.

AVON FEDERATION HISTORY

The Avon Federation was formed in 1975 when local government reorganised the boundaries and made several changes incorporating parts of Somerset, Gloucestershire and City of Bristol. This became known as the County of Avon. In the mid 1990s, the county was again reorganised and

divided into unitary authorities, but the WI decided to remain as the Avon Federation. The former county of Avon is one of many geographical contrasts, reaching from the foothills of the Cotswolds in the north, through the valley of the River Avon to the Mendip Hills in the south, and includes two interesting cities – Bristol and Bath. Avon Federation with 107 WIs and approximately 3,500 members, offers sincere and warm friendship to members,and the opportunity to learn together, to work side by side and to improve the quality of life. The federation aims to provide the greatest possible scope to develop individual skills, talents and a sense of citizenship. Our varied programme has encouraged many members to attempt feats beyond their wildest dreams: abseiling down cliffs; horse riding; gliding; camel riding; sand yachting; making their own special teddy bear; choral singing and speaking; discussions with MEPs; and visiting Slimbridge to see birds in their winter plumage, to name but a few. We look forward to future events with interest …

MANGOTSFIELD HISTORY

Mangotsfield WI was formed in June 1976 and started with a membership of 20. We still have original members to date and some have gone on to hold office within the Avon Federation. Our current membership is approximately 55 with an age range of 30 to 100.