Did you know that the building that is shown here with Boots the Opticians in it, was once owned by Edward Corfe he was a tailor and woollen draper & lived above his shop in 1875. Mr & Mrs Corfe had a daughter in 1866 called Beatrice Olive Corfe, Beatrice worked in the shop with her father.. Over the years Beatrice became very good at painting of watercolours of Winchester so much so, in the closing years of the 19th century and opening years of the 20th century Beatrice was commissioned by Alderman Thomas Stopher. Stopher was very interested in the history of Winchester and was concerned that the city would change considerably in the 20th century and that a record should exist of many of the buildings. As well as the watercolours Beatrice made of Winchester she also made many botanical observations and sketches and was employed by the Natural History Museum to make watercolours for use as postcards in the 1930s. After World War II her collection of plant watercolours (numbering 1021) and sketchbook (holding 89 sketches) were bequeathed to the Natural History Museum where they are still held (ref: xx362324.1). These can be viewed online at the Natural History Museum website.. Beatrice Olive Corfe lived in Winchester all her life and died in the city in 1947. So the next time you see a watercolour by signed B.O.Corfe you will know where she started life from in 1866.. (This is what I love about history the people may be long gone but the buildings are still there to tell the stories)
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 21:28:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015