L. WHITEAR HER WORK FEB. 6TH 1816,
TWYFORD SCHOOL
Twyford School is, and was, a preparatory school located in the village of
Twyford, Hampshire, in southern England. It claims to be the oldest
preparatory school in the United Kingdom. The school was moved to its
present site in 1809. The original buildings are still in use. For most of
its history the school accepted only boys as pupils, suggesting, curiously,
that our "L. Whitear" might have been the sister of a pupil, or not a girl
at all! There is another Twyford School in the South Downs near Winchester,
but school records have not been available to determine where Whitear
studied.
This is a delicately stitched sampler with a very pleasing symmetrical
format, including potted flowers and buzzing bees above a traditional verse
(with a new twist, dedicated to an uncle rather than a parent), and a scene
in the lower third depicting a large brick farm house, swans in a pond, a
farmer and his wife beneath a grape arbor, with a peculiar chicken and
friendly dogs alongside. The lowermost register depicts birds perched atop
follies that resemble Solomon's Temple. The verse reads:
Next unto God, Dear Uncle I address
Myself to you, in humble thankfulness
For all your care, and charge on me bestow'd
The means of learning unto me allow'd
Go on, I pray and let me still pursue
Those golden arts the vulgar never knew
Stitches used are cross over one
and two threads of linen, back stitch, and counted satin. On 35 count linen
the reproduction sampler will measure approximately 13-1/2" x 16-1/2" |