Six Inspiring Cornish Women
Cornwall is a landscape of inspiration, wisdom and resilience. In honour of International Women’s Day on Saturday 8th March, we’re celebrating six wonderful Cornish women who have graced our shores.
1. Pat Smith
Affectionately known as ‘Action Nan’, Pat Smith is the founder of The Final Straw Cornwall. Environmentalist Pat started The Final Straw campaign in 2017 to raise awareness of plastic pollution and rid Cornwall of single-use plastic straws. To date, 430 businesses have joined the campaign and committed to only using paper straws or selling plastic-free alternatives.
Pat has also completed a 300 mile walk around the Cornish coastline to raise money for the RNLI, the charity that saves lives at sea – what a truly inspiring woman.
2. Sally Hicks-Wood
Wife, mother, and grandmother, Sally Hicks-Wood was the founder of breast cancer charity Pink Wig Events. Since 2009, Pink Wig Events have been raising funds for vital research and breast cancer patients in Cornwall. For the past few years, the Pink Wig pre-party at The Greenbank Hotel has kickstarted Falmouth Week, before the annual Pink Wig Parade through town.
Sadly passing away in May 2015, Sally has left a lasting legacy with over £185,000 raised to date. All money raised has been split between local and national breast cancer charities, including the Mermaid Centre, Breast Cancer Now, and the cancer research department at Royal Cornwall Hospital Truro.
3. Rowena Cade
Born in 1893, Rowena Cade was the ‘master builder’ of the Minack Theatre in Porthcurno, near Penzance. In the early 1930s, Rowena bought the Minack headland for £100 and built her home, The Minack House on the now famous clifftop.
After offering her cliffside garden for an open-air production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rowena decided to build a theatre with her gardener Billy Rawlings. Together, they created a sloped seating area and stage entirely by hand. They used concrete mixed with sand from the beach below which Rowena carried up the cliff herself.
4. Helen Glover OBE
Born in Truro and raised in Penzance, Helen Glover is a two-time Olympic, three-time world and five-time European rowing champion. In the 2025 New Year Honours, Helen was awarded an OBE for her services to rowing, after previously being awarded an MBE in 2013.
If you are visiting Penzance, look out for Helen’s Olympic golden post box, situated on Quay Street opposite Penzance harbour.
📷: Roddas
5. Eliza Jane Rodda
Next up on our list of inspiring Cornish women is Eliza Jane Rodda, founder of Rodda’s clotted cream, one of our top local suppliers. In 1890, Eliza Jane began making her famous Cornish delicacy from her farmhouse kitchen in Scorrier, near Redruth.
From these humble beginnings, Eliza Jane’s recipe has been passed down through five generations of the Rodda’s family. Fast-forward to today, Rodda’s is recognised nationwide for their Cornish clotted cream and support of local farmers, and it all started with Eliza Jane.
6. Selina Cooper
Born in 1864 in Callington, Selina Cooper was a prominent campaigner for the women’s suffrage movement. Selina’s work included gathering signatures for petitions to Parliament, and organising the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).
The dedication of Selina, other suffragists and the suffragettes has had a long-standing impact on the rights of women. In 1918, women over the age of 30 who met a property qualification were allowed to vote. In 1928, the Equal Franchise Act was passed, finally giving all women the same voting rights as men.
