March 8th 2011 was the centenary of International Women's Day. In Nottingham a range of events were held to mark this anniversary, among them a women's history walk organised by the Nottingham Women's History Group.

1. Nottingham Castle (Gatehouse)

The walk began at the castle, with the story of Isabella, King Edward's wife, who plotted with Roger Mortimer to have the king removed from power. Mortimer would later be abducted by troops loyal to the king using a tunnel now known as "Mortimer's Hole." Despite her efforts to undermine the king, Isabella would later be buried in her wedding dress and Edward's heart.

Later in it's life (shortly before it was burned down by rioters in 1831) rooms in the castle and possibly sections of the gardens were let-out to rich people among them a number of well-to-do women who the women's history group are currently trying to find out more about.

2. Lace Centre

The Lace Centre on Castle Road was built in the 14th century and open as a visitor attraction about the lace industry from 1980-2009. This was an opportunity to discuss Nottingham's working women. Apparently Nottingham has historically had the greatest percentage of women in work in the county.

3. Friar Lane

Friar Lane is the base of the Nottingham Society of Artists established in 1887. Among its members was Dame Laura Knight who lived on Noel Street (her house now has a blue plaque, one of the few dedicated to a woman in the city). She was the first female artist to receive a damehood and the official artist at the Nuremberg Trials.

4. Civil War Plaque

Further up Friar Lane, towards the Roundhouse, is a plaque (one of several in the area) alerting people to the location where Charles I raised his standard and began the English Civil War. This was an opportunity to discuss Lucy Hutchinson, the wife of John Hutchinson who had been a prominent figure in the civil war and signed Charles' death warrant (for which he was later executed). Hutchinson was a translator and poet (possibly writing the first epic poem by a woman in English), but also wrote a biography of her husband, although she was unable to get it published during her lifetime.

5. St James's Street

Across the road on St James's Street is a house where Lord Byron stayed as a child. This is now marked by a plaque. Here the talk focussed on his daughter, Ada Lovelace who was kept away from her father, but would go on to work with Charles Babbage on his difference engine (widely credited with being the first computer). Today 24th March is celebrated as Ada Lovelace Day, a day to celebrate the achievements of women in science and technology.

Looking back over Friar Lane, is the site of the Nottingham General Hospital. The rotunda, now the Roundhouse, was once the Jubilee Ward and would later become the lesbian club Eternity. The hospital was for many years an important working and teaching hospital which would train many nurses, including a number who had come as immigrants from the Caribbean. Perhaps ironically, among the hospital's funders was Players, the cigarette manufacturers.

6. Harts Restaurant/Hotel

Now a very expensive restaurant, this sits on the site of the General Hospital and there is a plaque commemorating its opening on 18th September 1782.

7. The Ropewalk

The Ropewalk was once a well-to-do area and was home to Henrietta Cary. She and her 2 sisters never married, but she was an active philanthropist in the social guild and providing convalescent homes.

8. Upper College Street

A brief stop here allowed people to look at the tunnel which was constructed to allow horse drawn carriages to get from Derby Road to the Park.

9. College Street Centre

Here there is a convent originally built in 1834, designed by the same architect who had worked on St Barnabas Cathedral. A school had been run at the convent for sometime and during the war, its cellars were used as a bomb shelter, with a bomb even falling in the garden (fortunately it failed to go off). The convent had been unusual, in that it was self-governing with elected sisters up until 1953 when dwindling numbers forced it to amalgamate. The building had been a care home until 1999 before being sold and is now a privately-owned residential care home.

Opposite the convent is the original People's College. Set up as a boarding school funded by public subscription. The college had begun teaching girls from 1850, but only provided them with an English education and training in "plain needlework," while boys learnt a broader curriculum including Latin.

A short distance from both buildings is St Barnabas Cathedral. Here the bones of Mary Potter have been interred. Potter (who now has a medical centre in Hyson Green and a tram named after her) was a nun. Born in London, she claimed God had spoken to her through the bible and had set-up the Little Company of Mary, originally operating out of an old silk factory in Lenton, to provide care and education to the poor. They had even briefly provided midwifery services, although this had been stopped by the Catholic Church, so they had instead taught lay people to do it. The group wore blue veils and had been known as the "Blue Nuns." Potter had established centres around the world and John Paul II had declared her "venerable."

10. Wellington Circus

The women's history group believe this to have been the original site (albeit briefly) of the Nottingham Girl's High School, a private school, part of the Girls' Day School Trust. Prominent alumni of the school include Helen Cresswell (writer), Stella Rimmington (ex-Director General MI5 and author) and Salma Dessau (a sergeant in the RAF during the Second World War).

The nearby Playhouse was also discussed. Initially located on Goldsmith Street, the current building was initially very unpopular because of its modernist architecture, but is now a listed building.

Women have a long history in performance in the city. Vesta Tilley was a famous impersonator in music hall and began her career in Nottingham. She challenged gender conceptions of the time, dressing up as various male characters and was particularly inspiration to women as she was able to earn £500 a week.

11. Clarendon Street

This is the location of the Friends Meeting House. Quakerism has a long history in Nottingham dating back to it's founder George Fox's visit in 1649 when he had disrupted a service at St Mary's Church. For this he was imprisoned, but a local woman, Mrs Reckless, who had been moved by Fox's explanation of his faith got him out of prison and had him held in custody in the sheriff's house. She would later convert to Quakerism.

Quakerism has traditionally been progressive around equality issues with women always having had as much right to speak at meetings as men. Many of the suffragettes in the US were Quakers as they were already experienced in talking in meetings. One well known female Quaker is Mary Howitt, immortalised in a bust at the castle with her husband William.

Just off Clarendon Street on Chaucer Street is the old Institute for the Blind. This had originally been started by Miss Chambers who taught blind women to read the bible in her home. As late as 1948, the building had been a daytime club for unemployed blind people.

Also on Chaucer Street is Nottingham Women's Centre, one of the few left in the country. This is believed to have been established in around 1886. research by a worker at the centre suggests that Chaucer Street was once the site of a refuge, providing "shelter, protection and reformation" to women who had previously lived lives of "sin and wickedness."

12. Medieval Wall

The final stop of the tour was at the Holiday Inn on the junction of Maid Marian Way and Parliament Street. This, to many people's surprise, has a section of the city's medieval wall on display. Unfortunately you have to look at it through a window as the proprietors won't allow people in to look at it.