The life of Annie Eley

Today we had a talk about ‘Annie Eley’ who was one of our resident’s great grandmother.

Liz Jackson, who gave the talk, showed fabulous garments such as nighties, christening gowns and separate sleeves that were designed to save washing of an entire garment.

This collection was hand stitched by Annie in candlelight, with some of the garments dating back as far as 1860. Each garment was numbered, dated and signed, which you can still see to this day. The stitching was quiet exquisite.

Liz explained how she manged to gain information on the internet and also sought advice from the Victoria & Albert Museum on how to care for these cotton garments.

The real beauty of today’s gathering was that we were permitted to touch the garments. This included a tiny pair of kid glove shoes made in the 1900s. We ensured to handle them with great care.

Our residents were delighted to include residents from Abbey View who were guests for the day, and enjoyed discussing the artifacts and memorabilia, and all the memories they brought back.