Peak District play tells of the longest women’s strike in UK history

Striking Feet is the new production based on the women shoe makers from Eyam and Stoney Middleton and their two year long strike, between 1918 and 1920, campaigning for better working conditions.

Playwright and historian Lesley Oldfield has written the play which will be performed at the Mechanics Institute in Eyam on April 13, 14 and 15.

He said: “Many people know Eyam as the plague village but it has so much more history than that.

“It is also home to the longest ever strike by women workers in British Trade Union history, which is what the new play is all about.”Women of Eyam and Stoney Middleton worked in the shoe factories in the two villages.

However, they had to work 60 plus hours a week on low wages and the women were pressured by their bosses to bring in their young daughters so they could be paid less.

“All in all it was a terrible way of life,” said Lesley.

The workers signed up for the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives and asked the employers for a wage rise and also asked for union recognition.

The employers were furious they had joined a union said Lesley and sacked many of them and tried to get them evicted from where they lived.

He said: “Many of the villagers had little or no sympathy with the striking workers.

“The vicar, Reverend Riddlesdon, supported the women but he was ostracised from the church and the bell ringers stopped playing in protest of his actions.”Eventually, after realising that the bosses would not back down, NUBSO set up a shoe workers co-operative in Eyam to give the women work.

Lesley, whose own mother worked in a shoe factory in Eyam, said: “This is a huge piece of history. Everyone has heard about the match girls strike in London but that lasted only six months whereas this went on for two years and is relatively unheard of.”The play, performed by the Clickers and Benders Theatre Group, tells the story of these brave women who campaigned for change and also has two new songs which were created for the play as well.

Striking Feet will be directed by Sue Stones, who has been the director of the Bakewell Youth for 47 years and be joined by Rachel Judge who plays Strike leader, Kitty Smith and Buxton actor, Peter Leigh who plays shop steward, Bill Slater in the play.

It was meant to be released in 2020 to mark the centenary of the end of the strike but the pandemic halted things.

Lesley added: “I’m really pleased the play is finally going ahead and I hope I can do it justice.

“If anything it is more relevant than when we were planning to release it as there have been a lot of unions striking this year.”

The play will be at the Mechanics Institute next month, tickets £8 or £6 for concessions on the door and will also be performed at the Buxton Festival Fringe in July.

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