Queens of Industry

Queens of Industry were women who were chosen by their industries, through local, regional and national beauty-pageant style competitions, to become the mascots or official representatives of their fields. This twentieth-century phenomenon began in 1925 when a Railway Queen was crowned to mark the centenary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. It spread to the other major industries in Britain, first to textiles such as cotton, wool and silk, and then to other industries including coal. The practice stopped in the 1980s in Britain, but continued in other countries into the twenty-first century.

Irene Easton, Railway Queen 1936
Velvet gown of Railway Queens, such as Irene Easton

History

The phenomenon began in Britain in the 1920s, inspired by the tradition of the May Queen.[1] The first industry to embrace the idea of a 'Queen' was the railway industry.[1] During the 1930s, a wide variety of industries embraced the idea and at one event in 1936, in Blackpool, the Queens present included: the Cotton Queen, Salt Queen, Fish Queen, Locomotive Queen, Potteries Queen, Wool Queen, and Silk Queen.[2] There were other Queens as well, such as the Queen of the Radio, and the Queen of the English Riviera.[2] The idea was also adopted in the US, where other industries represented included the Tobacco Queen.[2]

For the women who became Queens, it gave many of them access to new opportunities.[3] The winner of the pageants would often meet different political figures of the time; their aim was to help raise morale and speak publicly.[4] The phenomenon was sometimes criticised as a public relations stunt, designed to distract workers from trade union disputes and high levels of employee dissatisfaction.[5]

Railway Queens
Chain of office for British Railway Queens

The first Railway Queen was crowned as part of the centenary celebrations of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1925.[6] For these early queens, physical appearance was important and those chosen were often daughters of railway workers, aged 14 to 17 years old.[5] The first queen was Helena "Ella" Wotton, the daughter of a Great Western Railway Employee.[6]

Audrey Mossom was crowned Railway Queen in 1935, aged 15.[7] Mossom was crowned the tenth Railway Queen in front of a crowd of 70,000 at the Railway Carnival and Pageant held at Belle Vue, Manchester.[7][8] Extremely popular and originally from Blackpool, Mossom was the second celebrity ever to be invited to switch on Blackpool Illuminations.[7] In 1936, Mossom was invited to visit the Soviet Union and the question was raised as to whether she should visit as a schoolgirl, or as Britain's Railway Queen.[8] The latter role was chosen and she met Stalin and Russian railway workers.[8]

In 1928, Ena Best from Rusholme was crowned Railway Queen.[9] During her year as the industry's representative, she travelled to Holland to visit Dutch railway workers, as well as opening Europe's longest station platform, which was created when Manchester Exchange station was linked to Manchester Victoria.[9]

In 1975, Brenda Tomlinson was the final Railway Queen to be crowned in a ceremony at Shildon.[9]

Winners
  • Helena "Ella" Wotton – Railway Queen (1925)[6]
  • Ena Best – Railway Queen (1928)[9]
  • Lily Dumelow – Railway Queen (1930)[1]
  • Audrey Mossom – Railway Queen (1935)[8]
  • Irene Easton – Railway Queen (1936)[10]
  • Brenda Tomlinson – Railway Queen (1975)[9]

Textile Queens

Textile industries embraced the idea of queens from the late 1920s, to act as ambassadors for the industry in face of a crash in cotton prices.[1] Queens from a variety of textile industries were popular in the 1930s, but social changes after the Second World War meant that they did not return to their previous popularity.[2] In 1949 a new 'Textile Queen' competition was launched in Blackpool, but it was not repeated.[2]

Cotton Queens
Blue plaque commemorating Frances Burgess

The first Cotton Queen – the winner of the Cotton Queen Quest, Frances Lockett, was crowned in 1930.[2] The competition was started by the newspaper the Daily Dispatch, which launched a search for 'the most beautiful girl in the cotton industry'.[2] This competition was open to women who worked in the industry from Cheshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire.[2] Lancashire was central to the development of the Cotton Queen – the music hall song ‘She’s a Lassie from Lancashire’ was even used as the official theme.[2] Each new Queen was obliged to travel around the country, acting as a representative and advocate for the cotton industry for a year after her win.[11]

On 3 July 1930, when Lockett returned home to Hyde, near Manchester, tens of thousands of people lined the streets and she had to have a police escort.[2] Even after her time as the cotton queen, she was still in high demand to attend charity events and was a celebrity in Hyde until her death.[12]

Marjorie Knowles, who was crowned Cotton Queen in 1932, raised morale through her work at a time of high unemployment.[13] Knowles had previously been crowned Burnley Cotton Queen three weeks before the national competition.[14] During her year as queen, she met Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald.[1]

The Cotton Queen Quest stopped in 1939 due to the outbreak of the Second World War.[2]

Winners
  • Frances Lockett (1930)[2]
  • Lois Heath (1931)[14]
  • Marjorie Knowles (1932)[2]
  • Alice Kirkham (1933)[2]
  • Vera Greenwood (1937)[2]
  • Laura Cowans (1938)[14]
  • Irene Harrison (1939)[14]

Wool Queens

Taking the lead from Lancashire's Cotton Queens, Yorkshire's Wool Industry also ran competitions to select women to represent it.[15] Local support was key and the Dewsbury Wool Queen competition was organised by the Leeds Mercury newspaper.[15]

In 1931, Mary Wood was crowned Dewsbury Wool Queen.[15] In 1947 Doreen Fletcher was crowned Yorkshire Wool Queen and was chosen to star in a film called Three Piece Suit, which was designed to encourage young women to join the wool industry.[16] Due to its success Fletcher later had a career as a singer, model and actress.[1]

Silk Queens

In addition to cotton and wool, but lesser known, were the Queens associated with Britain's Silk Industry.[17] In 1933, Alice Lilian King was crowned Silk Queen, in a ceremony that was filmed.[18]

Coal Queens
Yorkshire Miners' Coal Queen 1973 waves to the camera at a Coal Board gala

The National Coal Queen of Britain competition was introduced in 1969 and the last event was held in 1996.[19] It was a collaboration between the National Coal Board and the National Union of Mine Workers.[20] However smaller, local competitions had been held since the 1950s.[21] Entrants had to either work for the Board, or have a relative who did.[21] Runners-up became escorts of the new Coal Queen, and were known as 'The Miners' Lamps'.[20] Winners of the pageant could win holidays, money and clothes.[22] The 1977 winner, Marie Redford, won her weight in Babycham.[23]

Women competed in colliery, then regional events, moving towards a national final.[19] This final event was held in either Blackpool or Skegness.[20] From 1969 to 1976 the event was held at the Derbyshire Miners’ Holiday Centre in Skegness; from 1977 to 1983 it was held at Blackpool's annual Mining Weekend.[24] The Northumberland Coal Queen was usually crowned on the annual Picnic Day.[25] There were fifteen National Coal Queens in total, many of whom met up at reunions later in life.[26]

Duties for successful queens varied considerably: from escorting trains, as the 1972 Yorkshire coal queen Margaret Dominiak who travelled from Kellingley Colliery to Drax Power Station, to representing the industry at international events.[20] Former Coal Queen Deborah Tate emphasised that for many women it was also an honour and opportunity to represent your community.[21]

Winners
  • Rose McLachlan – Durham Coal Queen/National Coal Queen (1969)[27]
  • Margaret Lister (née Dominiak) – Yorkshire Coal Queen/National Coal Queen (1972)[28][29]
  • Yvette Shilton – National Coal Queen (1976)[26]
  • Marie Redford (née Dane) – Northumberland and National Coal Queen (1977)[21][23]
  • Carole Boulton – South Wales Coal Queen (1980)[30]
  • Tricia Liedl – Coal Queen (1981)[24]

Around the world

Argentina

A popular national contest in Argentina, is to become the 'Queen of Fishermen', representing the industry.[31]

Germany

Similar queens are crowned in Germany annually or biannually, mostly in the agricultural sector like viticulture.[32] Winners are often chosen from families involved in that particular field and have ceremonial and promotional functions, like opening of trade fairs. There is an association of such figures to allow for coordination of promotional events.[33]

United States
Coal Queen Crowning in Utah at a Fourth of July Celebration

The tradition still thrives in America, particularly in the Bituminous Coal Queen pageant in Pennsylvania, where the competition also includes a general knowledge test.[20] A 2005 documentary The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania examined the story of Sarah Rush, a former queen.[34]

In the 1930s, Tobacco Queens became popular in the US, with several regional contests beginning across Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.[35]

Legacy

Film

The British film Cotton Queen was produced in 1937, directed by Bernard Vorhaus and starring Mary Lawson and Stanley Holloway[36] In it, Lawson, as the daughter of a mill owner, spies on her father's rival.[36]

Exhibitions

Several exhibitions have been held at museum in the UK on the topic, including:

Literature

Queens of Industry have been depicted in several novels, including:

  • The Cotton Queen – Pamela Morsi (Mira Books, 2006)[39]
  • Death and the Brewery Queen - Frances Brody (Little Brown Book Group, 2020)[40]

Historiography

The work and the legacy of the phenomenon of Queens of Industry is one that would benefit from further research and much of what has been done has been compiled by researchers in the museum sector.[24]

See also

References
  1. Moss, Richard; Post, 12-10-17. "Cotton Queens – remembering the forgotten queens of industry". Museum Crush. Retrieved 2020-11-01.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. Conway, Rebecca (2013-12-01). "Making the Mill Girl Modern?: Beauty, Industry, and the Popular Newspaper in 1930s' England". Twentieth Century British History. 24 (4): 518–541. doi:10.1093/tcbh/hwt004. ISSN 0955-2359.
  3. "Discover the Story of Yorkshire's Queens of Industry – North Leeds Life". Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  4. McLaughlin, Aimée (2018-01-16). "The exhibition commemorating forgotten heroines of the industrial age". Design Week. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  5. Says, Chris Payne. "The Railway Queen who met Stalin". National Railway Museum blog. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  6. "Velvet Railway Queen gown, blue and gold | Science Museum Group Collection". collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  7. "The Railway Queen who met Stalin". National Railway Museum blog. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  8. "Audrey Mossom: Railway Queen of Great Britain who was entertained by". The Independent. 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  9. "Rusholme's Railway Queen. | Rusholme & Victoria Park Archive". rusholmearchive.org. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  10. "Irene Easton Railway Queen | Science Museum Group Collection". collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  11. News, Manchester Evening (2006-12-20). "Cotton Queen celebrations". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  12. Barlow, Nigel (2014-02-09). "Cotton Queen". About Manchester. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  13. Pidd, Helen; Willimont, Beatrix (2017-11-03). "Coalpit pin-ups: Leeds museum pays tribute to queens of industrial age". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  14. "Our queen when cotton was king". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  15. "Mary Wood: Dewsbury's Wool Queen". Leeds Museums and Galleries. 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  16. "Leeds museum to celebrate north of England's industrial 'queens'". BBC News. 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  17. "Mary Wood: Dewsbury's Wool Queen". Leeds Museums and Galleries. 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  18. Greer, Stuart (2017-02-21). "Tributes as Britain's Silk Queen of 1933 dies". macclesfield. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  19. BBC. "King Coal's West Yorkshire Queens!". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  20. Wainwright, Martin (2008-02-22). "Coal queens make a strictly PC comeback". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  21. "The Coal Queens of Northumberland". 2011-01-19. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  22. "Memories of the Coal Queens takes forgotten world to the National Coal Mining Museum | Culture24". www.culture24.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  23. "What do Babycham, Star Wars and Madonna have in common? | National Coal Mining Museum for England". www.ncm.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  24. Arnold, Jörg (2020). "'That rather sinful city of London': the coal miner, the city and the country in the British cultural imagination, c. 1969–2014". Urban History. 47 (2): 292–310. doi:10.1017/S0963926819000555. ISSN 0963-9268.
  25. "Picnics". Museums Northumberland. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  26. Ward, Paul. "An interview with Margaret Lister: the 1972 Coal Queen" (PDF). University of Huddersfield. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  27. "Mining Exhibit: Leisure" (PDF). Durham Record Office.
  28. Ward, Paul (2012). "The band playing and crowds sat watching: The world of the Coal Queen- An interview with Margaret Lister". eprints.hud.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  29. "Collections | National Coal Mining Museum for England | Margaret Dominiak". www.ncm-collection.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  30. "Coal Queen visiting Britannia Colliery, photograph". National Museum Wales. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  31. "Fishermen National Queen Beauty Pageant". Welcome Argentina. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  32. "Deutsche Weinkönigin" (in German). Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  33. "Verein deutscher Königinnen" (in German). Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  34. "Documentary takes warm look at 'Coal Queens' | Penn State University". news.psu.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  35. "A New Cure for Brightleaf Tobacco: The Origins of the Tobacco Queen during the Great Depression". Southern Cultures. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  36. "Cotton Queen – review | cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online". Radio Times. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  37. "Coal Queens | National Coal Mining Museum for England". www.ncm.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  38. "Mining museum exhibition pays tribute to coal queens of Britain". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  39. Morsi, Pamela. (2006). The Cotton Queen. Don Mills, Ont.: MIRA. ISBN 0-7783-2269-6. OCLC 63193739.
  40. BRODY, FRANCES. (2020). DEATH AND THE BREWERY QUEEN. [Place of publication not identified]: PIATKUS Books. ISBN 978-0-349-42308-1. OCLC 1130662974.
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