Wednesday, April 25, 2012

A Guided Tour of Embroiderer's England - Part 1

Thank you to everyone who left comments and made requests for particular counties on my 1930s embroidered map of England and Wales. There are still counties un-requested, so feel free to ask to see some more!
Carolyn got in first, suggesting that her native Lancashire would feature a cotton mill - of course she was right!
She also requested Cumbria, just next-door, although in those days it was Cumberland and Westmorland, of course:
That's the Lakes, as Carolyn predicted, up north, but what's going on in Westmorland? Ship building at Barrow? I'm not sure...
Vintage Vicki suggested farming in Suffolk. She should have been there to inspire the original embroiderer, clearly! Sorry, Vicky...
As you see, it's the same story for Betty the Woodfairy's Surrey, but LuluLiz's Sussex at least has some Downs and sheep. I would have liked to see sea bathing though, as she suggested!
Angela was hoping for, and got, the Norfolk Broads - I can imagine the Swallows and the Amazons in that little boat, can't you? I snapped Lincolnshire for Ang too - look, here's the agriculture!
There's a nice bit of coal-mining going on in Nottinghamshire too.
Vrooom! Jane suggested some history in the form of Warwick castle, but our embroiderer was going for a more modern connection - could that be an Aston Martin? A PINK Aston Martin???
Finally, Dormouse hoped to see some pictures of Liverpool. Our embroiderer didn't oblige, but she did create the most wonderful ship which has clearly just left the port.
The Isle of Man is there, but no triskelion!

It's been great fun finding the counties you requested (sorry for the variable quality of the photos) and I would be delighted if any more of you ask for counties or locations in Wales or England. The North East, where our boys were born, is unrepresented as yet...



10 comments:

Gill said...

How about Gloucestershire please??
My children and I were all born here!

Elizabethd said...

Cornwall? Maybe pasties, mining buildings or even the Cornish piskie!

Angela said...

Wonderful! thanks so much
Still trying to figure out the Pink Aston Martin [are you sure it isn't a vintage Lady Penelope Vehicle?]

Unknown said...

Ooh, thank you.
It could be shipbuilding at Barrow, they certainly did do that. Love the ship coming from Liverpool.

Elderberry-Rob said...

The embroiderer was very focused on industry, interesting, not your usual feminine type with flowers and ribbons but masculine, practical depictions, makes you want to know about the person who made it! Maybe it wasn't a woman at all even!

Jane and Chris said...

AHA!! A pink Jaguar made in Coventry where I was born. Well that's what I'm choosing to believe!
Jane x

VintageVicki said...

:( Shame there was nothing for Suffolk - if it was industrial they were looking for then we had a massive silk weaving industry at one point and of course Garretts which made steam engines (I've blog about the band playing in the old factory before).

Oh well - its still a fab find :)

Deborah said...

Wow, this is a wonderful piece of work, so beautiful :)

Bee happy x
Have a delicious day!

Serenata said...

Hertfordshire or Buckinghamshire where I was born?

Carol said...

Oh isn't it lovely. Yorkshire - a pudding! Or sheep amongst the lovely purple heather of summer on the North Yorkshire Moors with the steam engine passing by. Rhubarb, Pontefract cakes or the cotton mills of West Yorkshire. The Fishing fleet coming home to Hull (east) or Whitby (north).
The (now mostly closed) proud coal mines of South Yorkshire
Carol xx