Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue
  • Reference
    X939
  • Title
    Bedfordshire Federation of Women's Institutes
  • Date free text
    1917 onwards
  • Production date
    From: 1917
  • Creator
    Bedfordshire Federation of Women's Institutes
  • Admin/biog history
    The Federation was formed in September 1919. However, prior to that, there had been a 'sub-committee for propaganda of Women's Institutes', see X939/2/12, which was responsible for encouraging new women's institutes in villages. By 1919 twenty-one institutes had already been formed in the county and 19 of these were reported to be working well. The federation moved to a new office in 1962. The first WI market was held in 1967. They moved again in 1973 - to WI House, Adelaide Square, Bedford. In 1975 they had a dire financial crisis due to inflation which led to intense fund raising activities.
  • Scope and Content
    This collection consists of Federation archives such as the minutes and papers of the executive and sub-committees and also some material from individual women's institutes. The archives of the individual institutes are generally those which have been passed to the federation when an institute has been suspended or closed, therefore for many institutes there will be no records but the number will have been reserved for them should they choose to pass their records to the federation or to the archive service on the understanding that they will be added to this collection.
  • System of arrangement
    Federation archives separated from those of groups and individual institutes. Individual institutes numbered in order of the date of their formation in order to allow for later formations to be added in. Where an institute has been suspended and then reforms the archives of the later formation will be found with those of the original formation.
  • Level of description
    fonds
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