BLUE plaques are to be installed at the Town Hall to commemorate two remarkable women who made significant contributions to improving the quality of life for Chester people.

Phyllis Brown was the leader of the Women's Freedom League that campaigned for equal voting rights.

In 1920 she was the first woman elected to Chester City Council as a Liberal councillor.

Kate Clarke first stood as a candidate for Labour in 1920 and was elected as a councillor for St Mary's ward in 1929.

In 1937 Kate become the first woman to hold the office of Sheriff in the city. The following year Phyllis was elected as the first woman Mayor and 12 months later Kate took over the office of Mayor.

Phyllis was married to Harry Faulkner Brown from the wealthy department store family.

She had a lifelong association with the Queen's School as a pupil, member and chairman of the board of governors.

Properties in Stanley Place and Liverpool Road were donated by the Brown family to expand the Queen's School.

Mr and Mrs Brown also bought and then gifted the Meadows to the city 'for the land to be forever maintained and preserved as a recreation ground for the use of citizens'.

Bishop Lloyd's Palace - the HQ of Chester Civic Trust - was given by the Brown family to the city in 1948.

Kate Clarke was a teacher before her marriage to John Clarke, who was the Chief Inspector of the Great Western Railway Department in Saltney - in 1918 married women could not teach!

Kate's main historical legacy was leading the campaign to improve housing in Chester by clearing Dickensian slum courts in the city centre and rehousing families in council-owned homes with gardens.

She was also a school governor and a leading advocate for nursery education. Outside the council chamber, Kate served as the chairman of the magistrates Bench and was a director of the Chester Co-operative Movement.

Meanwhile, the first Civic Trust lecture of 2019 will be on Wednesday, January 16, at 7.30pm at the Grosvenor Museum Lecture Theatre when the speaker will be Professor Emma Rees from the University of Chester who will speak about ‘A Century of Female Suffrage’.

The first General Election when women were allowed to vote was held 100 years ago in December 1918.

Guests are welcome on payment of £5 on the door and students will be charged £2.