Gwenda’s Garage

Gwenda’s Garage was the name of the Sheffield garage that was run by female mechanics in the 1980s. Ros Wall – the inspiration for WEST – and Roz Wollen, current WEST trustee, were both founders and workers.

© Ros Wollen

“For five years during a turbulent political and social decade, Gwenda’s was a brilliant way station for three women who used spanners and elbow grease in a male-dominated trade as the starting point for empowering a generation of South Yorkshire women.

Working at Gwenda’s Garage gave Ros, Roz and Annette the experience and passion they needed to go off and teach, and through teaching and campaigning they reached thousands of other women.”

To learn more about this fascinating story of the only women’s garage in the north at that time you can read  Go with Gwenda’s! (pdf). This chapter written by Liz Kettle  was published in the ebook More Passion For Science to celebrate Ada Lovelace Day in 2015.

Gwenda’s Garage has also been covered by Historic England who produced the video below:

If you’re inspired by the story of Gwenda’s Garage and want to help us to continue its legacy in encouraging new generations of girls and women to study and work in non-traditional trades, please consider making a donation to the WEST Fund.