Irene Lofthouse

Alberta Vickridge: The Bradford Bardess Poet

Description

Discover the remarkable life of Alberta Vickridge, a prolific Bradford-born poet, publisher and printer, whose influence on early 20th-century literary culture is only now being fully recognised. 

Working from her home in Frizinghall, Vickridge built a vibrant creative practice, editing The Jongleur magazine and connecting with leading literary figures including J.B. Priestley. She achieved national acclaim as the only Yorkshire woman to win both a Bardic Chair and Crown, while also serving in the Voluntary Aid Detachment during the First World War. 

Explore Vickridge’s work, networks and legacy, as we shed light on a pioneering woman who carved out her own space in a male-dominated literary world. Through her story, we uncover a rich chapter of Bradford’s cultural history and celebrate a voice that deserves to be remembered.

About the Speaker

Irene Lofthouse

Irene Lofthouse

Irene’s been storytelling since age 6 – it says so on her school report. She is an author, playwright, social historian, actor/director and creative content producer/project developer. Irene has written many plays, two children’s fiction collections and edited several poetry/prose anthologies. A regular contributor to literary/art festivals, she’s commissioned by heritage organisations and universities to create site-specific poems/stories. Currently touring her one-woman show ‘Meet Louise Whitfield: Andrew Carnegie’s ‘most trusted confidante’; she recorded Hidden Bradford storytelling episodes on BBC Sounds and is researching speculative influences on Brontë writing. Irene’s focus is making the invisible visible.