Oi, Wirral! Pop the kettle on and get comfy, because I’ve got a story for you that deserves to be shouted from the rooftops of Liscard to Leasowe. Today we’re shining a well-earned spotlight on Amy Bulley — the woman from Liscard who helped open the university gates for women all across Britain, long before “girl power” was even a thing.
📚 From Wallasey to World-Changer
Amy Bulley landed on the scene in 1852, when Liscard was still full of fields, fancy hats, and not a Tesco Express in sight. As a girl, she was expected to “know her place” — but Amy had other ideas. She smashed through all the old rules by heading to Newnham College, Cambridge, back when most folks thought “women’s education” meant a bit of needlework and a nice piano piece for the vicar.
✏️ Teaching, Writing, and Raising a Racket
Did Amy stop at getting a top education? Not on your life. She became one of the first women ever to teach at Manchester University, blazing a trail for every lass who wanted a fair shot at a career. She wrote for newspapers (including the mighty Manchester Guardian!), penned books about women’s lives, and kept up a steady campaign for proper education for all. If Amy had had Twitter, half of Westminster would have been running scared!
🗳️ Votes, Voices, and Victory
Amy Bulley wasn’t just about the books — she was a champion for women’s rights, supporting the suffrage movement and pushing for fair pay, equal treatment, and the right to vote. Her work inspired thousands of women to go for what they deserved, and she never let a stuffy old rule stand in her way. Just classic Wirral grit, really.
Who found “no girls allowed” rather hard.
She stormed into class,
Outsmarted each lad,
And put old traditions on guard!
She campaigned for each woman’s right.
To the halls of the uni,
She brought her own tuney,
And made dull old meetings ignite.
Put hope in young Wirral girls’ heads.
With a heart bold and true,
She showed what to do—
And rattled the rulebooks to shreds!
🌟 Still Lighting the Way
Amy Bulley spent her life opening doors that others tried to keep locked. She never got a Amy B Day every year, but every time a local lass walks into a classroom, gets a degree, or speaks her mind, Amy’s work lives on. She died in 1939, but Liscard’s best-kept secret still echoes in every lesson learned, every ceiling smashed, and every loud Wirral opinion voiced at the dinner table.
Let’s get an Amy Bulley Day—school assemblies in her honour, writing competitions for all, a big mural in Liscard, and maybe a community debate for girls and boys to make their voices heard.
Local libraries: “Amy Bulley — Liscard’s Pioneer of Education.”
Statue for the precinct? It’s about time.