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History

The WI movement began at Stoney Creek in Canada in 1897 when Adelaide Hoodless addressed a meeting for the wives of members of the Farmers' Institute. The first British WI meeting took place on 16 September 1915 at Llanfairpwll on Anglesey in North Wales. The WI was originally set up in the UK to revitalise rural communities and to encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War.

We celebrated our 90th anniversary in 2005 and today play a unique role in enabling women to gain new skills, take part in wide-ranging activities and campaign on issues that matter to them and their communities. The WI is a diverse organisation open to all women, and there are now WIs in towns and cities as well as villages.Lady Denman - first Chairman
Our history pages tell the story of the Women's Institute from its origins in Canada in 1897 through to the present day. Honorary Archivist, Anne Stamper, provided this information using published materials, copies of the WI magazine Home and Country and other documents deposited in our archives.

Our archives

Our archives are kept at the Women's Library at London Metropolitan University (reference 5FWI) and are open to the public. Further information can also be found at the Genesis project's website which develops access to women's history sources. WI and federation records are usually kept at local county record offices.Llanfair PG WI, first WI in Britain (1915)