The parochial realm, social enterprise and gender: the work of Catharine Cappe and Faith Gray and others in York, 1780–1820

Catharine Cappe and Faith Gray, and a wider group of women to whom they had strong network ties, founded a number of philanthropic enterprises in York, England, in the 1780s. Their activities were largely focused on the provision of sickness benefits to single and married women and the management of schools for girls that had a substantial occupational training element. The social enterprises they formed or operated were long-lasting – in the case of the York Female Friendly Society (YFFS) operating well into the twentieth century. The article considers the role of parochial networks in creating and sustaining social enterprises in the late Georgian period and the ways in which the women’s activities were both shaped by gender, and in turn, shaped gender relations.