Maternity grant poster, 1973. Image: The National Archives INF/13/253(39)

Smita Patel visits an in-depth exhibition at the Women's Library exploring the lot of single mothers and how they have been preceived over the years.

This autumn, The Women’s Library at London Metropolitan University charts the experiences and treatment of lone mothers from the 1800s to the present day.

The exhibition (until March 29 2008) is presented in conjunction with Gingerbread Group/One Parent families – the UK’s leading organisation for lone parent families – and features archive material, photographs, posters, government leaflets and case study testimonies from lone mothers.

Aiming to debunk the perception of single mothers being a burden on society, or the ‘Vicky Pollard’ stereotype, Sinners, Scroungers and Saints aims to convey the hardship lone mothers have faced over time, and the idea that it is a new phenomenon.

The exhibition is split into colour-coded sections, with clever use of light boxes, audio and visual displays, as well as a timeline wall stating policies and developments that have affected women’s lives. The public are also encouraged to post a note about their own families on the wall, providing a snapshot of parenthood and family life now.

When parents split up - children's self-help book, 1986. © Ann Mitchell, 1986, W&R Chambers Ltd, now Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd

One section of the exhibition entitled ‘Relative Values’ looks at the changing face of families and attitudes towards marriage from the 1800s, charting the rise in unplanned first pregnancies for unmarried mothers from the 1800s, when, perhaps surprisingly, over half of all first births were conceived out of wedlock.

The highlight for many is likely to be the timeline, a series of light boxes spanning one side of the exhibition hall, effectively using photos of women and children holding statistics while doubling up as a human ‘graph’. The timeline covers Acts of Parliament and political developments affecting lone mothers from the 1800s to the present day.

This is a visually effective tool, in an exhibition that in places requires concentration and close reading to understand the documents and testimonies.

Marie Stopes' birth control clinic opened in Holloway in 1921. Courtesy the Women's Library

However, a powerful range of audio testimonies from lone mothers brings the exhibition back into focus, providing a moment away from examining papers, leaflets and photos.

Another interesting feature is the testimonial area containing personal items belonging to well-known figures (and lone mothers) like author Martina Cole and yachtswoman Tracey Edwards.

The exhibition raises awareness of the different circumstances that have led women to become single mothers, like forced separations (due to widowhood or migration) and highlights the interesting statistic that 55 per cent of lone parents were once married – the decision to ‘go it alone’ is actually quite rare.

It also reveals ways in which unmarried mothers have bowed to a disapproving society, such as creating ‘secret families’ by having another married relative adopt their child.

The beginnings of the women’s movement prompted new attitudes towards pregnancy in the early 20th century. While The Pill didn’t come about until the 1960s, radical thinkers (for their time) believed that women should be able to take advantage of contraception and safe abortion methods.

More could have been made of the establishment of the first birth control centre, the Marie Stopes ‘Mothers’ Clinic’, in 1921. Stopes’ views and work advocating birth control brought her the condemnation of the Catholic Church, but set in motion new attitudes and empowered women.

An original photograph of the first clinic, in Holloway, North London, provides an illustration, though a testimony or case study from the time would have enhanced this particular area.

Leaflet appealing for funds to provide flats for unsupported mothers. Courtesy the Women's Library

There are stark images from the 1970s depicting the living conditions of women in poverty with children to raise. Organisations like the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child, established in the aftermath of the First World War, were formed in large part to campaign for support for mothers facing difficulty making ends meet.

At first, it provided direct support, and with the later onset of the welfare system, it explained the benefits system to those who needed to claim.

Campaign materials including leaflets, books and posters are all held by the Women’s Library, and are fascinating to view, highlighting many of the support programmes we now take for granted.

Support for lone mothers has evolved over time, and opinions and perceptions have changed, whether sympathetic or accusatory. But most heartening to see is the progression in support for lone parents and their children – regardless of the circumstance that may have contributed to their situation, The Women’s Library evokes this struggle effectively.