In 1588 when the Scottish reformer John Knox first published his diatribe The First Blast of the Trumpet from which the above phrase was taken, he was using words very differently from the way we would interpret them today.

“Monstrous” meant “unnatural” and “regiment” meant “rule” (being as he was violently against female monarchs – of which 16th Century Scotland had its fair share…).

The Footprints of London team, however, begs to differ with the sentiment Knox expressed…

March 8th is International Women’s Day and we have put together a special celebratory programme of walks across London between March 1st and 13th telling the stories of the outstanding contributions of many of the great and influential women in our city’s history (women that John Knox would have no doubt labelled “monstrous”!).

• Alan Fortune & Rhona Levene offer tales of medical innovations, courage and scandal in Bloomsbury
• Stephen Benton highlights Queens, Suffragettes and Social Reformers in Westminster
• Michael Duncan celebrates the wild and wonderful women of Soho
• Amber the American Tour Guide tells of powerful women in Hampstead and Westminster and the City
• Tina Baxter introduces the Women of Fleet Street and their achievements ‘against all odds’
• Jill Finch looks at the imprint of women – ordinary and extraordinary – on the City of London through the centuries
• Rob Smith’s fundraising walk for women’s education charity Malala Fund in Islington introduces the campaigners, philanthropists and entrepreneurs who were the makers of modern London
• Jen Pedler and Joanna Moncrieff are in amongst the Gentleman’s Clubs of St James, where they find powerful, pioneering (but not always posh) women making their mark

Click any guide’s name above to go to their walks page for dates and booking details.  And watch this space as the week goes on for further posts on some of the amazing women that will feature in the walks.