Frances reads two letters from the 1800s, written by women from the Machell Cox family.
London in 1827 – by Matilda Machell; she was the grandmother of the ten siblings who wrote the Budget; Matilda was from a wealthy old family - the Machells of Crackenthorpe, in Cumbria - she was in London for the season, with her chaperone and her letter describes life in London and the people she met.
And the bridesmaid’s letter, written about Minnie, who was Matilda's daughter. This letter was written by Eve, one of the bridesmaids, Minnie's cousin, describing Charlie and Minnie’s wedding - they were the parents of the ten siblings; this letter was written on Wednesday 23rd October 1867, years before it became popular to marry on a Saturday.
Correction - apologies for the error in calling the tunnel The Rotherhithe Tunnel (built in 1908, still used for cars) - it is The Thames Tunnel (originally a foot tunnel, now carries underground trains)
Intro - 00:00
Matilda Machell - 1:10
Matilda's 1827 letter - 4:54
Notes on Matilda's letter - 11:20
The bridesmaid's 1867 letter - 17:25
You can contact Frances by email - machellcoxletters@gmail.com
or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters
or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social
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