One of the few things I regret about those four crazy boiler-suit-and-head-torch days back in 2019 spent trying to save as many of Ellen Willmott’s papers as possible was the sheer speed of it all. There was no time to just stop and look around. The basement was full, the remit to save documents, yet…
Category: Personal Life
A Girls’ Afternoon Out to the Photographer’s Studio
It’s somehow become the go-to photo of Ellen Willmott, taking over from the old bunch of ho-hum cliched stalwarts, and don’t get me wrong, I was delighted to find it in August 2021: What you can’t tell from looking at this image of Ellen Willmott in her prime, though, is its size. It’s tiny –…
Whatever Happened to Johann Bernhard Mann?
SPOILER ALERT Okay, if you haven’t read Miss Willmott’s Ghosts yet, avert your eyes – this post is Not For You. Nothing To See Here. Move Along Please. For anyone else, however, who wondered what happened to the shy young German naval lieutenant who fell madly in love with Ellen Willmott then disappeared from her…
Time Waits for No One…
…and especially me. I was unable to attend the second auction of items from Spetchley Park in February 2020, so I was forced to put commission bids on a number of items that, whether noted in the catalogue or not, were linked to Ellen Willmott. These weren’t the grand things, they were small – a…
Ellen Willmott and Edward Elgar
The most obvious reason why we remember Ellen Willmott as a horticulturist is because, however fragmented, there is at least some evidence of her horticulture. In her lifetime, however, Ellen was known equally – and in some circles more – for her musical abilities. Some obituaries actually describe her as ‘musician and gardener’ in that…
When Ellen met Monty…
I have a confession to make: My name is Sandra and I am an M.R. James fan. So, okay, for most people this is going to be a frustrating, completely self-indulgent post but it’s probably my only opportunity to talk about Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936), one of my favourite writers, in the same literary breath…
“That” Knuckleduster
There’s been a lot of talk about Ellen Willmott’s knuckleduster, so I thought today I’d tell the story of how it was found – and what I think it means… Warning: Most of the photographs in this post are going to be a bit out of focus. This is because it was DARK in that…
Thank God for Tea
Over the past few days I’ve been reminded of Ellen Willmott’s relationship with the Royal family, and especially Queen Alexandra. Of course I failed to photograph Ellen’s personal invitation to King Edward VII’s funeral, but despite her famous no-show at the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour shindig a decade earlier, there is no way on…
An intimate souvenir
I often marvel at the strange range of objects that have, against the odds, managed to survive down the years since Ellen Willmott’s death, when so many ‘important’ pieces have been lost. Even the humblest survivors can speak, however, and often reveal some intriguing things. One of the oddest possessions that has actually lasted may…
Miss Willmott's Ghosts 