"Recent Meeting"

"The Story of the Bedfordshire Map Sampler of Elizabeth Snitch" by Marion Maule Marion Maule gave a fascinating account of the story of a map sampler of Bedfordshire completed by 12 year old Elizabeth Snitch in 1779. This superb, historically important piece of needlecraft by a child living in Southill, Beds was prevented from going abroad by the efforts of Marion Maule who managed to obtain the required finance to keep it in Bedfordshire. It will be displayed in Bedford museum. Marion illustrated her talk by describing the the events and the way of life at the time with her portable collection of artifacts pertaining to the late 18th and early 19th century as well as a slide show. She showed example of samplers as well as everyday objects of the time. It was interesting to realise the importance of samplers to a young girl as these would have a significant impact on her prospects of marriage as the husband would want a wife who could make and mend his clothes. Marion gave a superb talk which was imformative and entertaining and appreciated by all.