THE mayor of Bridport wants to find out more about the first woman elected to the town council - and is calling on the public for help. To mark International Women’s Day which was held on March 8, Councillor Ian Bark has been learning about Agnes Suttill - the first woman to be elected as a councillor in Bridport. She was also one of the first councillors in England. Now there are moves to mark her achievements in some way – 100 years on from when she was first elected. Cllr Bark has been assisted in his research by Cllr Karen Hunt - who is a historian, chairman of Bridport Museum Trust and a founding member of Bridport Women’s History Group. It was Cllr Hunt who discovered that in 1921 Mrs Suttill became one of the country’s first elected women councillors.
A LADIES football team has walked the equivalent of going to Wembley and back four times to raise funds for NHS staff following their hard work during the coronavirus pandemic. During the second national lockdown, with all non-professional football not permitted, Bridport Ladies FC decided to use their time away from pitch to make a difference within the community. Together, they came up with the idea to cover the distance from Bridport to Wembley Stadium and back on a weekly basis to raise funds for Dorset County Hospital Charities. The ladies covered the 1,193 mile distance over a month long period, raising a total of £524 for their cause.