The role of women in society has changed dramatically over the decades – from living strictly at home, looking after their husbands and families… to running global businesses and countries, like the women of today.

And St Helens World of Glass is celebrating the impressive transition with its latest exhibition, ‘Women’, running until Saturday September 7.

Hannah Longworth, curator at the World of Glass, said: “Our aim is to reveal the changing life of women over the decades using a range of objects from the St Helens Council Collection.”

Collection items on show will include a nurse’s uniform and an air raid warden’s uniform, which mark the Second World War era when women really stepped up to begin to take on the roles of men. The exhibition will also include references to today’s familiar labour-saving devices, in their very early stages, such as the Baby Daisy Vacuum cleaner.

Used in the early 1900s, it required two people to operate it – one pumping or pedalling the bellows, and the other holding the suction nozzle.

“As well as items used for cooking, cleaning and washing down the years, we are also highlighting changing fashions in clothes and footwear, ranging from the delicate button-up boots of the Victorian era, to 1990s stilettos,” Hannah added.

‘Women’ will run on the Mezzanine Level of the World of Glass until Saturday September 7. For more information, visit worldofglass.com.