Appliqué Frame and Strippy Quilt

Maker:

Agnes Bentham

Date:

1870 - 1886

Double sided coverlet made from various printed furnishing and dress cottons. One side has a central section with applique motifs featuring tulips, hearts, hexagon rosettes and shapes that have been cut around printed designs such as flowers and birds. The name ‘Agnes Bentham’ is embroidered in brown cross stitch above the centre applique piece. Surrounding the applique are six frames, the first with applied mosaic pieced hexagons, followed by pieced triangles, squares and plain borders. The second side forms a strippy design with plain and pieced rows of varying widths and two triangle pieced rows in the centre. It is hand quilted in a very simple overlapping bellows style design apart from one edge which is machine quilted with a very similar design. The edges are butted and stitched by machine.

This quilt was made by Agnes Bentham, whose name is cross stitched on the coverlet. An individual census summary of Agnes puts her birth around 1840, and lists her places of residence and occupation as – Scholar, age 11, living in Thornton in Lonsdale, Housekeeper, age 21, Westhouse in Thornton in Lonsdale, Cool, age 31, Toxteth Park, Liverpool and Shopkeeper and Seamstress, age 41, Burton in Lonsdale. Agnes died in 1886 aged 46. From the dates of the fabric and the family history it is presumed this was made c.1870s-80s.