Introduction

There has been an explosion of interest in women's history, and, though lagging a little behind their work and education as foci of attention, their religious life has also become the subject of considerable research. It has become clear that, even if the gender balance was less skewed than in the Church of England, women outnumbered men in most congregations. The local Nonconformist community also provided an outlet for women to play a significant part. The proportion of women in Nonconformity is authoritatively discussed in C. D. Field, 'Adam and Eve: Gender in the English Free Church Constituency', Journal of Ecclesiastical History. Female preaching remained more common in the later part of the century than used to be supposed and by its end there were organised bodies of deaconesses.