A Portrait of Lady Astor 1879-1964 with Joyce Grenfell , Lord Shinwell William Douglas-Home
David Astor , Claud Cockburn and Sir Oswald Mosley
Presented by John Grigg
Sixty years ago this week, on 1 December 1919, Nancy Astor became the first woman Member of Parliament to take her seat in the House of Commons. She said, Nobody wanted me there. It was like going into a man's club' but she stayed for 25 years.
She was American-born, a millionairess by marriage and a leading political hostess. At Cliveden, the family home, she entertained on the grand scale and her opponents branded the Astor circle of friends ' the Cliveden Set'. In her constituency in Ply-mouth, she is remembered as the great supporter of nursery education and of women's rights.
In this film biography-in which the Astor home-movies are shown for the first time- her niece JOYCE GRENFELL returns to Cliveden to recall Nancy in her heyday as hostess there and her three sons DAVID, MICHAEL and JAKIE talk openly about their mother. Her maid ROSE HARRISON recalls her years in service and CLAUD COCKBURN , SIR OSWALD MOSLEY and LORD SHINWELL reflect the various views on Nancy's career in the House of Commons.
Photography DAVID WHITSON Sound DICK BOULTER
Film researcher CHRISTINE WHITTAKER Film editor ALAN LYGO
Producer JEREMY BENNETT. See page 3