Object number
61/38
Description
A bonnet of flowered cotton and net with two rosettes of lace and net. It is part of a collection of clothing, probably from the second half of the nineteenth century, which originally belonged to the donor’s great grandmother. She lived near Cheltenham and died in 1928 aged 93. The family story has it that they were her ‘going away clothes’ from her wedding.
Physical description
1 bonnet: cotton; lace; net; good condition
Archival history
MERL miscellaneous note: "They [61/36-42] belonged to his great-grandmother who died in 1928 aged 93. She married before she was twenty and had these shortly afterward, or were, as family story has it, her going away clothes, and that is why they were kept. / / Charlotte Powell was born in Olderton [Alderton] near Cheltenham and on her marriage to Simon Powell in about 1855 she moved to the Fountain House at Gretton, near Cheltenham, where her husband farmed. / / She had 22 children and 17 of these lived to have children of their own. Mr Brown remembers when he was a small boy, a family reunion, at which they celebrated her ninetieth birthday. He remembers her as being very like Queen Victoria. She was a great admirer of the Queen and there always used to be a picture of the Queen hanging in her house. / / These clothes were kept by one of her daughters who is still alive, and is now over 90, and these were passed on to Mr. Brown’s mother. Great Aunt Anna was a cook for Lord Primrose and she boasts that she used to cook for royalty. From this great-aunt it is hoped to find the exact date of her mother’s marriage, which should date the clothes. / / It is not known who made them. / / In recent times these clothes have been used in amateur dramatics."
Production date
1850-01-01 - 1899-12-31
Production period
Nineteenth century, second half
Object name
Material
Technique
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_8409.tif - High resolution image
