Vanessa WoodOne thing I love as much as chasing history: knitting. I’m what they refer to in pattern instructions as an expert level knitter. I knit socks, sweaters, complex cables. I rewrite patterns to spice things up a bit. So when does knitting and history collide? In knitting history of course.
When I searched for historical knitted garment patterns I found several books available through Google Books. I’m starting a mid-19th century jacket (image above)1 that ought to be an adventure. Understanding old-timey directions for a British knitter is a struggle but my other concern is getting it to fit without buying a corset!
Old drawings don’t really speak to the vivid eye of the imagination. It’s in gray so I was thinking this would be a nice gray stripe, however the recommended colors in the pattern are scarlet and white stripe. Do I go with historically correct colors or I do go with something that could be worn in the 21st century? Would scarlet and white look like Where’s Waldo?
This blog is called “On the Census” so you’d think I’d mention something about a census. Well, you’re right! The pattern book was written by Eléonore Riego De La Branchardiere and published in 1848.2 I was able to locate her on the 1851, 1861, and 1871 U. K. census in London.
- 1851 she was living at 106 New Bond Street in Hanover Square, Westminster. Her surname was spelled Branchardiere by the census taker. She was 23 and unmarried. Her occupation was recorded as authoress and designer. Her widowed aunt Eliza O’Neal age 69 was living in the household and working as a milliner. Her aunt’s place of birth was recorded as Southwark, St. George. A 15 year old cousin by the name Eliza O’Neal was also living in the household.3
- 1861 she was enumerated at 1 Princes Street, Cavendish Square (the same address she stated as her place of business in her 1859 knitting book). Her name was spelled Brandchardine by the census taker. She was 31 years old. Her occupation is recorded as Berlin (wool) and lace dealer. Her 64 year old widowed mother by the same name was also living in the household. The subject listed her place of birth as France and her mother was born at Shooter Hill, Kent.4
- 1871 she was living at 238 Oxford St. in London (near where Oxford St. and Regent St. meet today and very close to the 1 Princes St. address). She was 37 (not sure how that happened 10 years later!). Her occupation is recorded as annuitant and authoress. Her mother Augusta E. (Augusta Eleanor) age 76 was also in the household and was recorded as born at Blackheath, Kent.5
Branchardiere died in 1887. The probate record of her estate gives her date of death as 26 December 1887. The value of her estate was £6640. I couldn’t resist searching for the present-day value of the estate– about £725,000. The executor of the estate was Mary Jane Mitchell of 101 Edith Grove.6
There’s a group of projects designed by Ms. Branchardiere on the needlework site Ravelry. It’s interesting to see the old knitted lace. [see items]
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1 Eléonore Riego de la Branchardiere, The Winter Book for 1848 (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1848), p. 12-15, particularly p. 13; Google (https://books.google.com : accessed 15 November 2019).
2 Ibid.
3 1851 U. K. Census, England, Westminster, p. 44, 106 New Bond Street, Eleanor de le Branchardiere; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8860/images/MDXHO107_1474_1475-0329 : accessed 15 November 2019); National Archives, England, GSU roll no. 87798.
4 1861 U. K. Census, England, Marylebone, p. 24, 1 Princes Street, Eleanor Brandchardine; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8860/images/MDXHO107_1474_1475-0329 : accessed 15 November 2019); National Archives, England, GSU roll no. 542568.
5 1871 U. K. Census, England, London, St. Marylebone, p. 22, 238 Oxford Street, Eleanor Branchardiere; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8860/images/MDXHO107_1474_1475-0329 : accessed 15 November 2019); National Archives, England, GSU roll no. 823301.
6 Register of National Probate Calendar, Index of Wills and Administrations, p. 152, 31 January 1887, Eleonore Riego De La Branchardiere; digital image of printed index, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1904/images/31874_221760-00159 : accessed 15 November 2019); citing Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England.
