The Louisa Fennell Walking Trail
The Forgotten Women of Wakefield project is the creative mission of Dream Time Creative.
The project seeks to empower the community — and in particular the women’s voice — through the concrete goal of achieving Blue Plaque Parity for Wakefield’s historical women.
With Louisa’s Trail we honour Louisa’s life and legacy in the city she captured so beautifully in watercolour.
The trail will take you to view some of the most important buildings and interesting buildings in Wakefield’s past, and help you to understand what Louisa might have seen when she was painting her wonderful watercolours.
Louisa’s Life
Like many of our first group of women, Louisa undoubtedly had a privileged upbringing. She was also fortunate to have a father and mother who valued her as a person and not just as a commodity to maintain their standing in Society. Indeed, Louisa appears to have enjoyed a close relationship with her father. She later excelled under the tutelage of some of the most respected art teachers in the area.
However, Louisa’s life was not without its difficulties. Chief among them was that, even though she was a respected watercolourist, she was still not allowed to mix in elite art circles because she was a woman. For more historical information based on research by Helga Fox, Nicky Harley and our wider research team, take a look at our broadsheets below.
We have also created an audio drama pinpointing a few moments in Louisa’s life. This drama departs from our research while trying to stay true to what we know in order to imagine some of the important relationships in Louisa’s life.
The Launch of our Multi Language Louisa Trail!
Funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and as part of our work with the Wakefield District City of Sanctuary, our Louisa Fennell Multi-Language Trail enables our GEM community in Wakefield to access the trail in several different languages. We now regularly host, and help members of the community host, walking trails in languages including Polish, Urdu, and more.
If you would like to experience the trail for yourself, the guidebook is now available to view for free via the link below.
Read the Louisa Fennell Multi-Language Trail Book Now!
Press
Wakefield Express: Wakefield launch of Louisa Fennell Multi-Language Walking Trail book a success
Trinity Walk: Louisa Fennell Trail Page
Trinity Walk: Centre hosts launch of trail celebrating famous-but-forgotten female artist
Wakefield Express: Book detailing the work of Wakefield’s Louisa Fennell in six different languages set to launch
The Yorkshire Post: Trail of work by Wakefield watercolour artist Louisa Fennell shows city’s past a century ago
The Yorkshire Post: Blazing a trail for artist whose works show Wakefield’s past
Wakefield Council: What can help recovery from Covid-19