The annual festival celebrates the strike 19n 1910 which saw some 800 women strikers take on their bosses and demand the minimum wage to which they were entitled. After 10 weeks, the strikers emerged victorious.

While there are a number of trade union festivals (Durham, Burston etc.), the organiser's of the Women Chainmakers' Festival claim that it "is unique in telling the story of the 1910 dispute through the medium of live theatre." Many of the museum staff appear in period costume and the rally was addressed by strike leader Mary Macarthur herself (played by Lynn Morris).

It is ironic that the parade around the museum, a recreation of the marches of the strike, was larger than many genuine demonstrations I've been on. They even had two brass bands, one sponsored by NASUWT.