Table of Contents A Brief Word on Genealogy..........................................................................................9 Introduction: The Norfolk Sampler Tradition...............................................10 Chapter 1 : Norfolk: Locations and Traditions...............................................13 Chapter 2: Schools and Education........................................................................27 Chapter 3: Improvement and Invention.......................................................47 Chapter 4: Ingenious and Improving Women........................................53 Chapter 5: An Improving and Inventive Society.......................................67 Chapter 6: Characteristics of the Norfolk Sampler........................75 Chapter 7: The Girls and Their Samplers......................................................103 Chapter 8: Norfolk Darning Samplers........................................................285 . Conclusion: Uniquely Norfolk..............................................................................3 1 1 Verses...............................................................................................................314 Glossary................................................................................................................323 Bibliography ..........................................................................................................................326 . Index...........................................................................................................................332 Image Credits........................................................................................................................343 Acknowledgments......................................................................................352



A Brief Word on Genealogy

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n most cases the initial identification of the samplermaker’s Norfolk origins has been based on the database at familysearch.org. Information on this site is generally footnoted to documentary sources but in some instances has been supplied only by family members. When possible this genealogy has also been corroborated by other original sources, but this has not always been feasible. Census records beginning in 1841 are available at ancestry.co.uk and, when possible, have been used to trace the families of some of the girls born after 1790. Many of the family names of these girls were common or widespread throughout Norfolk. Also, as genealogists know, families will often maintain affinities for certain, often ancestral, names which recur frequently over generations, resulting in the same first and last names appearing contemporaneously in multiple divergent branches of a family. Other names were popular during different decades, so that we see a clutch of Anns at a certain date or a cluster of Harriot/Harriets. Some girls recorded in the christening records as plain English Mary seem to have become Maria in their sampler signature. Thus we occasionally rely on educated guesswork, tinged, in one or two examples, by some undeniable wishful thinking. In all cases I have, to the best of my ability, provided my evidence and I would be grateful for any corrections that the reader brings to my attention.

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The Norfolk SamplerTradition

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he year is 1797 and England is at war with Spain and France. The Napoleonic domination of Europe is underway with Britain alone leading the opposition. An invasion by the French at Fishguard in Wales exacerbates a banking crisis and panic spreads throughout Britain.

Ancient map of England and Wales showing Norfolk

From Letheringsett near Holt in Norfolk, the diarist Mary Hardy records that the Bank of England and all banks in the county have stopped payment. From the surrounding country pulpits, political sermons are preached. Later in the year Mary’s son William joins a society for the defense of the Norfolk coast. Meanwhile, Mary’s husband William reports that drafts of parliamentary Acts of Enclosures are circulated in the public houses. The 1797 map of Norfolk by William Faden, Geographer to His Majesty, will be the last detailed map of the county before the widescale enclosure of the vast commons, heaths and warrens. Life goes on. Fields are ploughed, William senior suffers with gout and son William bathes in the sea. In July, father and son along with Mary’s brother attend a match played by Norfolk’s first county cricket team at Swaffam, while Mary and her sister-in-law drink tea with friends. In August, Mary’s relation, Phillis Raven, is hired to teach at Miss Alpes’ school in Holt from September until Christmas for four guineas. For James Woodforde at the rectory in Weston Longueville, Norfolk, 1797 is a year marked by illness. The ailing Parson is unable to attend the annual Mayor’s Guild Day festivities in Norwich, whose opulent processions and pageantry he had so enthusiastically chronicled in past years. Between intermittent bouts of fever, the Parson rallies to enjoy dinner parties, discussing such topics as “the rather disagreeable news at present going about” as he casually describes the two unprecedented mutinies in the Royal Navy. At this particular

Drawing of Guild Day Parade by Thomas Starling,

11 dinner he partakes of fried eels, boiled pork and greens, hashed calf’s head, a couple of chickens boiled, and apple dumplings followed by coffee, tea and cards, where he wins two shillings at the game of loo. In the city of Norwich whose hereditary wealth is built on a textile industry now in slow decline, the populace is torn between the sudden poverty of the working poor caused by the war’s disruptions of trade with accelerating bankruptcies among the merchant class, and the pragmatic demands of loyalty to the national military which stands between them and the threat of invasion. For the second time in two years, four thousand people attend lectures by the London radical John Thelwell, this time ending with military intervention. In this period of transition in the fortunes of the city, demolition of the ancient city gates, which had ensured the local control of trade, is continued as a municipal cost-cutting measure and the Norwich Union Society, which will become the nation’s largest insurance company is founded. Before year’s end national hero Commodore Nelson, born and educated in Norfolk, will present to the city the silver gilt sword surrendered to him at the decisive Battle of Cape St. Vincent. In the well-to-do Norwich parish of St. Peter Mancroft, James Edward Smith, founder of the Linnean Society of London and son of a wealthy Norfolk wool merchant, has recently retired to his hometown to raise his family and to continue work on his multi-volume scientific publication English Botany. His collaborator is the illustrator James Sowerby, former Royal Academy classmate and brother-in-law of Robert DeCarle, a Norfolk stonemason and sculptor. However, it is Robert’s daughter Catherine and her female contemporaries with whom we are concerned. In her adult life Catherine will become a wife, mother, and business proprietor. At her home on Magdalen Street in Norwich, she will bear two sons and suffer the loss of a child and husband. As a young widow she will continue operating the family drugstore while raising her nine-year old son. She will sustain the business to pass along to her descendants over the next hundred years. But, in 1797, she is a precocious eight year old, completing her embroidery design at a time when the Norfolk sampler is reaching the pinnacle of its classic incarnation, with a composition consisting of stepped lozenge, linked octagon band, variegated pine trees and deer, all surrounded by lush mixed floral bouquets. The motifs in Catherine’s sampler are inventions that are nonetheless dependent upon decades of Norfolk embroidery traditions, which will continue to survive and evolve well into the coming 19th century. These distinctive samplers exemplify the unique heritage of design and symbolism of Norfolk society and the girls who stitched them.

Catherine De Carle‘s Sampler

Schools and Education Now while to my lessons with care I attend And store up the knowledge I gain When the winter of age shall upon me descend Twill clear the dark season of pain. Elizabeth Turner sampler 1815

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he separate spheres doctrine was one expression of new attitudes toward the education of children in late

18th -century England. The prevailing belief in the early part of the century, that the primary purpose of universal teaching was to instill religion, gradually gave way to a broader curriculum designed to equip children, both boys and girls, for society.35 Lessons in drawing and French became a standard element in a middle-class education and there was a concomitant growth in educational institutions for the commercial and artisan classes, especially after the 1740s.36 According to historian J.H. Plumb, expanded educational opportunities were more frequently available in the old established market towns than in the new manufacturing cities.37 The ancient towns of eastern Norfolk fall squarely into this category. Writing, mathematics, bookkeeping (accounts), surveying and navigation were skills that increased favorable employment options for young men. In addition to the development of larger manufacturing concerns, a growth in trade, banking and insurance created demand for records-keeping and office management skills. An accomplished writing hand was a noteworthy skill and an invaluable asset in seeking employment. 35 J.H. Plumb, “The New World of Children in Eighteenth-Century England.” Originally published in Past & Present No.65, May 1975. Oxford: Oxford University Press on behalf of the Past & Present Society. 20. 36 Plumb, 20. 37 Plumb, 41.

39 If you desire to worship God aright First in the Morning pray and last at Night Crave for his blessing on your labours all And in Distress for his Assistance call. The moral imperative of sewing is made manifest within the trinity of religion, duty and needlework celebrated in the verse on the Ann Devear and Maria Titter Howard samplers of 1800 and 1821 respectively: Religion and Duty happy I am taught And Needlework to this perfection Brought To read the Scriptures and my Neighbours love In hopes to gain those Heavenly Joys above For the verse on her 1815 sampler, Elizabeth Warren turned to the work of the Norfolk poet Susannah Harrison. The verse is from Songs In the Night by the author who promoted herself as a self-educated and self-supporting young woman “under heavy afflictions” when the book was first published in Ipswich in 1780.53 Elizabeth’s chosen verse is in the second, 1807, edition and entitled “A Morning Hymn” based on Psalm 3. How should the morning of my days Be spent in humble pray’r and praise To him who gave me life and breathe And still preserves my soul from death To him I’ll dedicate my days Then shall I prosper in my ways; And whilst my calling I pursue His praise shall terminate my view. Ann Devear 1800

53 Susannah Harrison, Songs in the Night by a Young Woman under heavy afflictions. (Fourth edition) (Ipswich: Punchard and Jermyn, 1788) Title Page.

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Teachers in Norwich in 1783 1. Miss Bennet, No. 40 Colegate Street 2. Miss Brands, No. 18 St. Giles Broad Street 3. Miss Anne Browne, No. 3, St. Stephen’s church-yard 4. John Browne, No. 12, Red-well Street 5. Miss Chettleburgh, Livingstone’s Court, Market-place 6. Clover and Massey, No. 58, Pottergate Street 7. Miss Gilbert, No. 7, Pottergate Street 8. Mrs. Peterson, No. 8, Excise Office Street 9. Mrs. Shilling, No. 16, Lower Close Square 10. Miss Bentley, St. Stephen’s Square (after 1791)

84 the economic advantages of the child labor used in the large textile mills to the north and west. A 1792 flyer for a trade exhibition of the train dresses, scarves, shawls, turbans and habit shapes of the J.P. Knights Shawl Manufacturers was designed to appeal to the charitable impulses of their customers, addressing them as “the promoters of female industry” and advertising that “a Child who at 4 Years of Age wrought before her Majesty will be seen Embroidering Shawls.”128 The embroidered borders of the early Norwich shawls display many of the same floral patterns and motifs, the ribbontied nosegays and sinuous borders, which abound in the floral frames of the Norfolk samplers.

The Stepped Lozenge “The lozenge may originally have been a fusil…it is a figure longer than a lozenge and signifies a spindle, which is a woman’s instrument.” Elements of Heraldry 1795 129 Within the group of Norfolk samplers thus far identified, the stepped lozenge as a central framing element first appears in 1768 on the Eliza Dearn sampler. In this sampler the flowering branches spill from blue cornucopia, a variation of which can be seen in the Susanna Seel sampler of 1770.130 Cornucopias were not only a generative symbol but also an example of the Hogarthian line of beauty and grace. Now in the collection of the Strangers’ Hall Museum in Norwich (Carrow House), the 1768 Eliza Dearn sampler also displays the second known appearance of the “Next unto God” verse, the most frequently repeated of the Norfolk samplers verses. From Eliza Dearn in 1768 to Elizabeth Brittain 1841, the stepped lozenge as the central organizing element of the composition is the key visual clue to a sampler’s Norfolk origins. The lozenge is a figure so ripe with historical and mythological connotations that it is easy to fall down the same rabbit hole as the 18th-century philologists who, in the

128 Pamela Clabburn, The Norwich Shawl. (London: HMSO and Norfolk Museum Services) 13. 129 M. A. Porny. The Elements of Heraldry. (London: G.G. and J. Robinson and others. 1795) cited in “Notes & Queries” volume 8: 449. 130 Susanna Seel was born 1758 in Warham, a village and civil parish in the county of Norfolk about three miles inland from the northern Norfolk coast, 3 miles southeast of the town of Wells-next-the-Sea and 30 miles northwest of the city of Norwich. She was the daughter of Benjamin Seel (b. 1740) and Susanna Tompson (b.1740). According to Williamson, Seals is an early name in the Tunstall parish probably from the Scandinavian “selja” meaning willow (Williamson, The Norfolk Broads. 42.)

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Martha Beck 1749 The Martha Beck sampler, like the Mary Postle sampler, is a perfect example of the subtle variations that occur between two samplers based on the same composition but worked by two different people. Minor additions and omissions and the differences in color choices and execution of the same motifs make each of these samplers a singular work of needle-art. Martha Beck was the daughter of Thomas Beck and Martha Spearin, christened 4 June 1735 in Heigham, Norwich. Her father had been christened at St. Martin at Oak in 1702 and her parents had been married at St. Augustine, Norwich on 6 January 1729. The verse on Martha’s sampler connects her to Hannah Tramplett who used the same lines on her work completed three years later. The verse is discussed in Chapter 2.

Indulgence soon takes with a noble mind Who can be harsh that sees another kind Mildness in Temper have a Force Divine To make even Passions with their nature joine

Faden’s 1797 map with Heigham starred

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Elizabeth Smith 1813 More than a dozen years after the completion of Ann Devear’s work, the format first seen on the Larter and Akers samplers, including the small winding heart band, appears again on the Elizabeth Smith sampler of 1813. 224 The deer in the medallion band have been replaced by urns of flowers, but the corner arrangements of flowers are clearly copied from the Larter and Aker samplers. As in the earlier works there is a variety of flowers — roses, violas, honeysuckle, forgetme-nots, carnations — including the large rose bud which is almost a signature motif for these Norwich samplers. In the bottom register within the stepped medallion frame, are tulips or lilies in a footed urn and birds on twining perches. The Smith sampler also repeats the “Next Unto God” verse of its compositional predecessors. Elizabeth Smith has not been identified. Among the likely candidates are Elizabeth Smith born 1798 and christened at St. Helen’s, Norwich, the daughter of John Smith and Hannah Bacey. If, like several other girls of the period such as Elizabeth Larter, we surmise that our Elizabeth Smith was named after a deceased sister, born two years earlier, this could be our sampler-maker; however, the name is too common for this assumption to be conclusive. Elizabeth’s sampler was stitched with silk threads on a linen ground. It measures 13 inches by 13.75 inches without the frame, and 14.75 inches by 15.5 inches in the frame. Stitches include cross, outline, satin, and back.

224 It has not been possible to pinpoint the family of Elizabeth Smith who, according to her sampler was 13 in 1813. Two candidates were born in 1798 but none are recorded in 1800. One Elizabeth was born 14 August, 1798 and christened at St. Helen’s, the daughter of John Smith and Hannah Bacey. The other was christened in September of the same year at St. Lawrence, the daughter of Samuel Smith and Mary Wood. Among the John Smiths in Norwich in 1799 there is a carpenter, a worsted weaver and a Reverend Smith who was a clerk in the Cathedral precinct. Twelve other Smiths are listed in the poll book for 1799 but none are named Samuel. In addition, James Edward Smith, botanist, founder of the Linnean Society of London and the son of a wealthy Norwich wool merchant, returned to Norwich in 1796 upon his marriage to Pleasance Reeves. He became the author of the two-volume Flora Britannica.

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Verses I Believe In God The Father Almighty Maker Of Heaven And Earth And In Jesus Christ His Only Son Our Lord, Who Was Conc eived By The Holy Ghost, Born Of The Virgin Mary, Suffe red Under Pontius Pilate Was Crucified Dead And Buried He Descended Into Hell The Third Day He Rose Again From The Dead He Ascended Into Heaven, And Sitteth At The Right Hand Of God The Father Almighty From Th ence He Shall Come To Judge The Quick And The Dead I Believe In The Holy Gost, The Holy Catholick Church The Communion Of Saints The Forgiveness Of SinsThe Resurrection Of The Body And The Life Everlasting Amen Mary Aspes 1740 I Adore no other Gods but only me II Worship not Got by any thing you see III Revere Iehovahs name swear not in vain IV Let Sabbaths be a rest for beasts and Men V Honour thy Parents to prolong thy Days VI Thou shalt not kill nor murd’ring quarrels raise VII Adult’ry shun in Chastity delight VIII Thou shalt not steal nor take anothers right IX In bearing Witness neverf tell a Lye X Covet not what may others damnify Anne Hart 1740

Great God Compassionate and mild Forgive the follies of a Child Teach me to pray and mind thy word That I may learn to fear the Lord Mary Postle 1747 Indulgence soon takes with a noble mind Who can be harsh that sees another kind Mildness in Temper have a Force Divine To make even Passions with their nature joine Martha Beck 1749 Hannah Tramplett 1752 Tis Virtue only makes our Bliss below And all our Knowledge is ourselves to know Mary Woods 1759 Remember thy Creator in thy Youth Serve thou betimes, the Glorious God of Truth Dedicate unto him, Thy early Days And with Delight, walk in his Holy Ways Catherine Oxley, 1759 Abigail Dingle, 1762 Roseanna Hammond 1809 - the first line only Anna Mallet 1822

315 Next Unto God dear Parents I Address My self to you in humble Thankfulness For all your Care and Charge on me Bestow’d The means of Learning unto me Allow’d Goe on I Pray and let me still Pursue Those golden Arts the Vulgar never Knew Sarah Freeman 1762 Eliza Dearn 1768 Mary Amond 1783 Elizabeth Larter, 1792 Margaret Akers, 1792 Tamason Wright 1796 Catherine DeCarle 1797 Rachel Hook 1801 Ann Suffield Massey 1803 Caroline Massey 1805 Jane Gledhill 1812 - Those golden arts the friendless never knew Ellenor Ramsay 1811- Those golden arts the friendless never knew Elizabeth Smith 1813 Charlotte Aaron 1815 - Those golden arts the friendless never knew Sarah Adams 1832 Ann Farby no date Virtue’s the brightest Gem, a Maid can wear Peru nor India, Boast not one so Fair All jewels Fair, below its Worth we Find They but Adorn, the Body this the Mind Jane Brunton 1763 Mary Downing 1771 Ann Wade 1772 Kezia Hawkes 1803 Mary Ann Walker 1814

Search Try O God My Thoughts and Heart If Mischief Lurks in Any Part Correct Me Where I Go Astray And Guide Me In the Perfect Way Ann Brownsmith, 1768 Great is the Steadiness of Soul and Thought By reason bred and by Religion Taught Which like a Rock amidst the Storm Waves Unmovd remains and all Afflictions braves Ann Brownsmith, 1768 Attend, ye sprightly youth, ye modest fair! Awhile be arts of dress your slighter care Awhile the precepts of these pages heed And richer ornaments will soon succeed. Susanna Seel, 1770 A Diligent Scholar is an Ornament to a School Mary Downing 1771 Ann Wade 1772 Sophia Brunton 1797 Rebecca Gidney 1811 Let me be wise in youth O Lord that so I safe may tread the way I ought to go Lead me and learn me what is right and just For in thy help my God I put my trust. Mary Downing 1771 Ann Wade 1772 Eleanor Bidwell 1791