New Women's Museum opens next to old Barking Abbey site

The Women's Museum sits alongside the old Barking Abbey site, launching with an inaugural exhibition titled An Idea of a Life.

The exhibition celebrates the women-led community that lived in Barking Abbey from around 666AD to the early 16th century.

The exhibition stems from extensive research from the Barking and Dagenham Archives and Local Study Centre.

It is located next to the old site of Barking Abbey (Image: Chris Hopkinson, Chromaphotography)

Using archaeological findings, records and ongoing research, the exhibition aims to show the influence of the abbesses and nuns at Barking Abbey on the borough today.

Councillor Saima Ashraf, deputy leader and cabinet member for community leadership and engagement, said: "Barking and Dagenham’s history is full of strong and determined women; from the women of Barking Abbey, Victorian prison reformer Elizabeth Fry and the oldest surviving suffragette Annie Clara Huggett, to the 1968 strike by women machinists at Ford’s which led to the passing of the equal pay act in 1970."

This is artwork from Sarina Mantle, called Sacred Cycles of the Divine Feminine (Image: Chris Hopkinson, Chromaphotography)

She added: "The Women’s Museum is a space where local people can come together and connect, while celebrating the stories and experiences of women and girls in Barking and Dagenham and beyond."

The exhibition features newly commissioned artwork, including this piece by Meera Shakti Osborne (Image: Chris Hopkinson, Chromaphotography)

Curated by Nephertiti Oboshie Schandorf, with support from Valence House Museum & Archives, the exhibition features artwork by Lesley Asare, Sarina Mantle and Meera Shakti Osborne.

It also showcases replicas of artefacts found at the abbey.

The exhibition will change and grow with the seasons (Image: Chris Hopkinson, Chromaphotography)

The evolving exhibition, which includes communal activities reflecting Barking Abbey's traditions, will change and grow across the seasons.

The related research project A Magnifying Glass on Barking Abbey’s Archaeology has been funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

This is part of an installation from Lesley Asare, called Ritual Recipes (Image: Chris Hopkinson, Chromaphotography)

It aims to deepen the understanding of Barking Abbey through an analysis of the archaeology uncovered at the site.

An Arts Council England project grant also supports the exhibition's public programme.

For more information, visit the museum's website at www.newtownculture.org/womens-museum/.