We won the right to vote, burned our bras, and ensured equal rights were enshrined in law… and yet still, only one in five business owners in the UK are women.
Which makes Dorchester’s Brewery Square something of an anomaly.
Not only was the Eldridge Pope brewery, in whose fine 19th century buildings most of the shopping quarter is housed, started by a woman, but these days about a third of the businesses there are women-led.
Nearly 200 years ago, Sarah Eldridge and her husband Charles founded the Eldridge Brewery. When her husband died in 1846, Sarah ran the brewery herself, grew it and leased pubs across Dorset. Her name stayed on the brewery – later becoming Eldridge Pope – for over 150 years.
The number of women in business back then was actually much higher than today – nearly 30 per cent of Victorian businesses were run by women.
At the time, much wealth was passed down to sons, while women were expected to marry well. If they did not, it fell to them to earn a living. Married women with children were not often able to work outside the home, so they started their own businesses working around their children’s care.
Many women led cottage industries – they may not have been Bill Gates, but they sailed their own ships.
Sarah’s story was so remarkable it inspired Dorchester’s first community play, Entertaining Strangers, written by David Edgar. The play was performed in St Edward’s Church in 1985, then in 1987 it went to the West End, where Sarah was played by Dame Judi Dench.
As we mark Women’s Entrepreneurship Day on Thursday, November 19, and 170 years since Sarah Eldridge died on November 25, 1856, the WDM meets some of the many women behind today’s Brewery Square businesses.
Sarah Ryan has run Mirari lingerie for eight years, moving to Brewery Square in 2023. Mirari is the only place offering a bra fitting service in Dorchester since M&S left.
She said: “You couldn’t really have a man running my business! You have to understand your customers, what they need in the shape, colour and fit.
“We have a lot of customers who come to us after mastectomies, so we specialise in that area.
“We moved to Brewery Square for the extra footfall.”
Louise Fletcher has run Loco Loves – a beautiful shop offering clothes, homeware and coffee and cakes – in the square for eight years. Her business was one of the first in the section leading to Dorchester South railway station, and she is assisted in the business by her mum Jill Cowan.
She said: “I started my own business to carve out a job for myself after New Look moved to London – I was a fashion buyer there.
“My favourite things to do are shopping and stopping for coffee and cake, and I’ve recreated that in one place here. It has been hard – we have gone through covid and trading from the door and introducing click and collect, and I’ve had to find solutions for all sorts.
I think there’s something about Dorchester that attracts women to start businesses
I was inspired to start after watching Louisa (of Highbrow Skin & Laser Clinic nearby) make a success of her business. It does take a lot of juggling, but it’s great having a job in something you love and are passionate about.”
Marcia Smith has run the record shop Vinyl Van with Helen Moody for seven years, having decided the space in Pope Street was perfect for them to quit their jobs and move their record selling business from their van into permanent premises.
She said: “I had never had a shop before. We traded from our van at festivals and we intended to do a pop-up shop for a while, but when we saw this place I thought it was ideal, near the train station with lots of people.
“One thing that persuaded us to take on the five-year lease was the sense of community here, and the safety and security, with cameras and people patrolling. You do feel safe here.”
Ali Cookson has run vintage and antique store Memory Lane with her husband Eddie for three years.
She said: “To us it’s not really a job – we love history and antiques, so this is our passion. I think more and more women are starting businesses – we want a bit of the action!”
Laura Hansford runs Dorset Hideaways, an independent holiday home management firm which has been in Brewery Square for seven years.
She said: “There are quite a lot of females running businesses here, which I think might go hand in hand with independent businesses.
“I used to work for a commemorative coin company and I thought this would be easier… it’s not! We have a lot of competition from big national companies, but local holiday homeowners like having one point of contact, who knows the area and has a lot of knowledge about their home. They do find us welcoming and approachable.”
More women-led businesses at Brewery Square
The women above are joined by – and this may not be an exhaustive list:
- Louisa Franzen from Highbrow Skin & Laser Clinic
- Nikki Skinner from Nikki’s Little Play Café
- Gemma Illes of Santos + Co
- Annabelle Thorne of F.I.T.T. Chiropractic
- Emma Randall of Stems Florist
- Georgia Heggs of Halo Fine Art
- Aimee of The Great Big Escape
- Tina of Copper Street Brewery
- Jess Kenyon of MUTT Everything Dog