Stella Gibbons, HMP Holloway, Sandra Horley
Woman's Hour
BBC
4.1 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 25 November 2020
⏱️ 46 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Stella Gibbons' first novel was Cold Comfort Farm. First published in 1932, it became an instant bestseller and made fun of country life. Another one of her novels called My American will be serialized on BBC Radio 4 next week. The writer Lynne Truss discusses Stella's life and work.
Four years ago the largest women's prison in Western Europe, HMP Holloway in London, was closed. The building has huge historic significance. partly because of its links to the suffragettes, especially the Pankhurst sisters. But what will happen to the site now that the prison has gone?
Refuge is the UK's largest domestic violence service. It has a network of refuges and community-based support, as well as a 24-hour helpline. Every year it supports 80,000 women and children. Sandra Horley has been Refuge’s Chief Executive for over 40 years. She comes onto Woman's Hour to talk about her time in charge.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.6 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.4 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable |
| 0:14.3 | experts and genuinely engaging voices. What you may not know is that the BBC |
| 0:20.4 | makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | BBC Sounds. |
| 0:38.0 | BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:41.0 | Hello, it's Wednesday the 25th of November 2020. |
| 0:44.8 | I'm Nicola Beckford and this is the Woman's Hour podcast. |
| 0:48.1 | Good morning, how are you? |
| 0:49.7 | On today's Woman's Hour, we'll be hearing from Sandra Hawley, the former chief executive of |
| 0:54.0 | refuge who's retired after more than 40 years working to protect women and |
| 0:58.5 | children from domestic violence. We'll also be finding out from the |
| 1:02.3 | we'll also be finding out about the author Stella Gibbons, who's best known for her novel |
| 1:07.0 | Coal Comfort Farm. Novelist Lynn Truss will tell us why Gibbons should be remembered for so |
| 1:12.3 | much more. |
| 1:13.4 | And just so that you know, you can always text us here at Women's Hour on 848.4, that's 84804. |
| 1:21.0 | But first, the largest women's prison in Western Europe, Holloway in London closed four years ago. |
| 1:28.0 | Since then, there's been quite a lot of wrangling, to be honest, over what kind of legacy they'll be for women on the site. |
| 1:34.0 | Now it's a prime development spot in the middle of Islington in North London when it went up for sale |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.