100 years on: the stand and the scandal, meet the militant suffragettes

It's 100 years since the first women gained the right to vote, after years of bitter struggle.

The Votes for Women campaign took a number of forms over the first two decades of the 20th century - and is an at-times dark tale that involves violence, forced-feeding, and prejudice.

Take a look as we reenact one remarkable step in that story - the protest at the Manchester Art Gallery:

Three friends agree to meet at the entrance of Manchester Art Gallery.

They were women of wealth - middle class, educated and respectable. But hidden in their handbags are three hammers.

Annie Briggs, Lillian Forretester and Evelyn Mannesta were there to smash this place to pieces.

They said it was the only way to get their voices heard, and at trial, said they were patriots.

Two of them served time in prison for this act.

It was part of a turn towards more militant suffragism, as women fought for the right to vote.

They were out to embody the new suffragette motto "Deeds not words".