A history of the women who contributed to research of arachnids in Britain during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is presented. Publication trends, notable achievements, and membership of the British Arachnological Society (BAS) and its Council are all discussed. A checklist of all published work by female arachnologists in publications of the British Arachnological Society from its inception (as the Flatford Mill Spider Group) in 1958 to the year 2000 is given.