Nancy Astor

Nancy Astor

About us

Viscountess Nancy Astor (1879 - 1964) made history when she became the first female MP to take a seat in the House of Commons in 1919.

She represented the Plymouth ward of Sutton for 25 years. She was also Lady Mayoress of Plymouth during the Blitz - a key defining period in the city's recent history.

Nancy was a woman of contrasts: liked and disliked by her peers; fiercely independent and outspoken yet reliant on her friendships and guidance from her second husband, Viscount Waldorf Astor; wealthy yet generous; renowned for the lavish garden and dinner parties she hosted at her Cliveden estate in Buckinghamshire yet anti-drink and a campaigner for a number of social causes.

Take a glimpse into the life and times of a person who was flawed and complex but keen to do good; who may not have had an original mind but who certainly had an original personality; and who made history by being the first woman to enter Parliament at a time of many changes in British society - changes that had an impact on the status of women and the role of goverment, all set against a backdrop of the turbulence of the First and Second World War. 

Share your images

Book Tickets

TripAdvisor

Map & Directions

Recently Viewed

  1. Rave Kidz

    Type

    Family

    Family Rave Event with DJ ULTRABEAT & Andy Whitby

  2. Centenary celebration of Sir Malcolm Arnold: A duo concert: Peter Fisher, violin and Margaret Fingerhut, piano

    Type

    Music

    We are very pleased to welcome an exciting violin and piano duo – Peter Fisher and Margaret…

  3. Photography Course with BRS Images

    Type

    Animal/Wildlife

    Join us for a jampacked photography course at Dartmoor Zoo that you won't forget! Hosted by the…