Shawls & Frolics

This handsome pair of silhouettes show John & Frances Harvey of Thorpe Lodge, Norwich. John is resplendent in military uniform and busby in his role as Lt.-Col. of the Norfolk Yeomanry, a volunteer cavalry regiment. The letters PROTE– run round the rim of his hat. Equally resplendent is his wife, Frances, in a high-waisted crossover gown and elaborate headdress topped with feathers.

John Harvey is credited with the introduction of one of Norwich’s bestselling exports: the Norwich shawl. Admired and worn by Queen Victoria, and so the height of fashion, these shawls were woven in highly patterned fabrics to imitate hand-embroidered silk but at a fraction of the cost.

Born in 1755, John was the third child of Robert Harvey and Judith (née Olney). In 1782 he married Frances, the daughter of Sir Roger Kerrison, and commissioned Thorpe Lodge to be built as his family home. Thankfully it was a substantial house as Frances was to give birth to fifteen children. Harvey was a wealthy textile manufacturer and a partner in Harvey and Hudson’s Bank. Said to be flamboyant, he organised an annual Water Frolic based on an event he’d enjoyed whilst visiting Venice on his Grand Tour. Initially intended for the enjoyment of the local gentry only, Harvey soon opened up the popular event for all to enjoy. Elected as Mayor in 1792 and High Sheriff in 1842, Harvey was a keen philanthropist who ensured the poor had access to affordable food and coals during difficult economic times.

Frances was forty-two when she died leaving ‘a disconsolate husband and twelve children’, her obituary describing her as ‘an exemplary wife’ and devoted parent having led ‘a meritorious life’ despite ‘a long series of illness, anxiety and affliction’.

Reverse painted on convex glass with scratched out detailing, the silhouettes are by the hand of Elizabeth Hudson (fl. 1783-1802). With verre églomisé surrounds in black and gold, they are backed with card and set in the original turned wood frames, each with hand-written labels to the reverse.

The daughter of Henry Chilcot, a jeweller working in the popular spa town of Bath, Elizabeth specialised initially in wax profiles and hairwork settings for portrait miniatures. Following her father’s death, she turned to painting silhouettes, her career taking her to a central London gallery. The sudden death of her patron there obliged her to return to touring as an itinerant artist. Alongside painting, Mrs Hudson had a theatrical career playing to packed houses up and down the country. A woman of many talents, her final career move was to open a school for young ladies in Cheshire.