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Title
Women Chainmakers Monument
Date
2010–2012
Medium
cast steel
Measurements
H 300 x W (?) x D (?) cm
Accession number
B64_RA_S090
Acquisition method
commissioned by Sandwell Council and Friends of Mary Macarthur Gardens
Work type
Statue
Owner
Sandwell Council
Custodian
Sandwell Council
Work status
extant
Unveiling date
9th June 2012
Access
at all times
Signature/marks description
on one arc of the plinth: ARTWORKS BY / LUKE PERRY – 2012 / OF INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE STRONGHOLD / CASTINGS BY MICRON – AMBLECOTE / FUNDED BY SANDWELL COUNCIL
Inscription description
around the circular base: IN 1910 OVER 800 WOMEN CHAINMAKERS OF CRADLEY HEATH, KNOWN AS THE WHITE SLAVES / OF ENGLAND, DOWNED THEIR HAMMERS IN PROTEST. LED BY MARY MACARTHUR THESE PROUD WOMEN HELD/THEIR STRIKE FOR TEN WEEKS, FINALLY WINNING THEIR FIGHT FOR THE FIRST NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE IN HISTORY. / WITNESSED BY MORE THAN TEN MILLION PEOPLE ON PATHÉ NEWS THEIR EXAMPLE SET A POWDERFUL PRECEDENT FOR WORKERS' RIGHTS. / THIS MONUMENT IS DEDICATED TO THEIR BRAVERY AND RESOLVE.