MARGATE WI

About Us

Black and white image of WI members in Cliffs Margate, it is slightly out of focus

Formed in 2015, Margate Women’s Institute is a fun and friendly WI offering a place for inspiring women to come together to socialise, learn and inspire others. 

Our group is made up of local women of all ages who enjoy monthly meetings on a diverse range of topics and activities including beer tasting, ballet, local history talks, wreath making, foraging, Vogue-Chi, life drawing and fashion upcycling to name but a few. See our gallery for what we’ve recently been up to.

Alongside our monthly meetings we have active sub-groups for our like-minded members to get together and share their interests.

Within our local community we actively get involved with Margate Pride, POW! Thanet Festival, Mergate, and local litter picks. We support many local charities through collections and donations – for 2025 we are proud to be supporting the Free Books for Schools Campaign by Margate Bookshop.

We are currently not taking on new members. We have a waiting list which you can join here. We meet on the second Thursday of every month at 7.30pm in Olby’s* in King Street, Margate.

Margate WI Committee

PresidentHilary Askew
Vice PresidentJustine Larkin
SecretaryAstrid Brenton
Vice SecretaryAmy Robson
TreasurerMandy Jarvis
Vice TreasurerLinda Sawyer
Public RelationsScarlet Drayson
Programme SecretaryTracey Baldwin

The National Federation of Women’s Institutes

The Women’s Institute (WI) was formed in 1915 to revitalise rural communities and encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War. Since then the organisation’s aims have broadened and the WI is now the largest voluntary women’s organisation in the UK. The National Federation of WIs currently has almost 220,000 members in approximately 6,300 institutes across the country. 

The WI is based on the ideals of fellowship, truth, tolerance and justice. It plays a unique role in providing women with educational opportunities and the chance to build new skills, to take part in a wide variety of activities and to campaign on issues that matter to them and their communities.

Margate WI shares these values and forms just one of the 100+ institutes across the East Kent area overseen by the East Kent Federation of WIs.

*Some meetings are for Margate WI members only and are held at an alternative venue. Please check our calendar for more information.