Frances reads two letters, written by Matilda Machell, her third great-grandma. These letters are part of a huge archive of documents, written by Frances' family, now safely preserved in the Bodleian Library.
The first letter was written from Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, on the East coast. The letter states Friday Aug 28th at the top, but was likely to have been written on Friday Aug 26th 1825, when Matilda was aged 25.
The second letter is written from Springwood on Monday January 23rd 1826. Matilda visited Crow Nest, near Halifax, home to the three wealthy Walker siblings, and she wrote about them. Both letters were sent to Matilda's favourite brother, Christopher, back home in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire.
Frances has thoroughly enjoyed researching this podcast and delving into the world of Ann Walker and Anne Lister. She hopes you enjoy listening to it.
Do email Frances if you can shed any further light on any of the content of the letters - machellcoxletters@gmail.com
Intro - 00:00
Bridlington letter - 05:20
Notes on Bridlington letter - 11:28
Springwood letter - 16:09
Notes on Springwood letter - 25:11
"Poor Lord Paget" - 40:33
Springwood - 46:43
You can contact Frances by email - machellcoxletters@gmail.com
or X/Twitter - @CoxLetters
or Blue Sky - @Coxletters.bsky.social
All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library.
