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Archiver > ENG-YKS-DEWSBURY > 2005-02 > 1108578953


From: "Gillian Cattell" <>
Subject: RE: Dewsbury 1892 St. John's School quilt
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 18:35:53 -0000
In-Reply-To: <4211D9CE.7050109@ntlworld.com>


Very many thanks Sally
Though somewhat later than 1892 I went to St. John's school 1952-58 and my
father was a teacher there 1949- 1968.
Both my parents went to the school and their siblings - surnames SAVILLE &
WHEATLEY. Though at the said date (1892) the surnames would be CLEGG,
SAVILLE.
I will be seeing both my parents next week as it is their Diamond wedding
anniversary and will ask if they have any recollections of hearing of this
quilt and if you could send me a list of the SURNAMES I will ask them if
they recall any of the family members.

Gillian
Birmingham

PS I will be in York in April will the quilt be on display by then?

-----Original Message-----
From: Sally Ward [mailto:]
Sent: 15 February 2005 11:15
To:
Subject: Dewsbury 1892


Hello, I'm new to this list. I found you on a general web search and
have joined because of a specific piece of research I have started. I
thought it may be of interest to your members, and also that your
members may be able to help me with information.

I work as a volunteer at the Castle Museum in York, and they are just
about to display a Signature quilt made in Dewsbury in 1892. The quilt
is machine embroidered with over 400 signatures. There are actually 437
pieces of embroidery, but some give addresses or other information, and
some are spoofs ('A Friend', 'Florence Nightingale'). I have been able
to record nearly all of the signatures fairly accurately. There is some
difficulty with the interpretation of the operator's handwriting in
machine stitching: the letter t is not crossed, for example; Initial
letters can be confusing and inconsistently rendered (T, J, F and S in
particular) and sometimes her interpretation of letters running into
each other can give more than one reading. However, I think I have
produced a fairly accurate list. Only one group of 3 family names
appears to be in a different hand, otherwise all appear to have been
done by the same person.

The quilt helpfully records the date of the Bazaar for which it was made
as October 1892, and gives the location as St John's School. It raised
£10-2-6d for funds, presumably from the 'sale' of signatures which was a
popular fundaising practice at the time. I have checked the Dewsbury
Reporter and the District News and found reports dated Saturday 29th
October which seem to fit the circumstances. There is no specific
mention of the quilt, but rather of a Bazaar which was held at that time
in order to raise funds for new schoolrooms and heating for St John's
School, Dewsbury Moor. Most of the effort seems to have some from the
ladies' sale of work. The District News gives names of stallholders, and
of the 27 surnames given I can match 22 to the quilt. It also gives the
name of the Mayor at the time, who conducted the opening, and this
matches the name of the Mayor and Mayoress given on the quilt.

I have found a St John's School in Dewsbury, near Dewsbury Moor and have
arranged to visit and check their logs for more information. Now I have
completed the list of names I will be making return trips to Dewsbury
Library to see who I can track down.

I am just at the beginning of this research, and would be very grateful
to hear from any list members who think they might have family members
with names on this quilt, or other information which they think could be
relevant.

Sally Ward
Boston Spa, West Yorkshire

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