MEMORIAL
OF
HENRIETTA MARIA PEEL
Henrietta Maria Peel
was born, probably in Windhill, on
She attended the
In Windhill, as the
dutiful daughter, she managed Crag Cottage, her father’s impressive new house
in Briggate.
From the Memorial we
learn that Henrietta was a well-educated, refined and cultured lady who had a
large circle of friends with whom she corresponded regularly and exchanged
visits.
It is safe to assume
that most of the company she kept came from the pampered classes – mainly the
wives and daughters of her father’s wealthy manufacturing associates. Amongst
these ladies of leisure she was regarded as an agreeable and esteemed
companion. As a friend she was valued for her compassion and steadfastness.
In her personal life,
Henrietta was evangelical and pious, apparently devoted to the Church. In all
probability she undertook charitable works – a letter she wrote to a local
charity, enclosing a sovereign, was greeted with rapturous applause when it was
read out to the assembled worthies.
In early 1846 she started a
Diary, this being a daily record of the weather, her activities and of the friends
she visited, entertained and exchanged correspondence with. The first entry,
written on 4 January, is unlike the other entries in that it reported a newsworthy event: while
watching canal barges loaded with wool, lime and coal gliding past her
window at Crag Cottage, she saw a body – probably that of local resident
Peter Cowling, who drowned after falling in the Canal – being borne along the towpath from the
Three-Rise Locks at Crag End to the nearby Kings Arms Inn. After registering her shock at the sight, Henrietta
remarks tersely, “Another victim of intemperance”.
The Memorial was almost
certainly written by her great friend Martha E Clough, the local schoolteacher.
It is essentially a compilation of selected entries from the Diary and a
narrative of Henrietta’s last hours, together with the recollections, sprinkled
with homilies, of her friends. Perhaps wishing to preserve the privacy of
Henrietta’s friends, the author attempted to disguise their identities by using
only the first and last letters of their names.
A previous borrower of
one of Bradford Library’s copies has pencilled in a few of the names: perhaps he or she
had some knowledge of Henrietta’s companions.
This researcher has tried, with
limited success, to decode the names in an
annotated pdf copy.
This transcription
was made from one of two copies owned by Bradford City Library. Both copies are in poor condition.
The text has been faithfully followed, including printing errors, though the page layout
has had to be disregarded.
It includes photographs of the original plates.
The portrait of Henrietta was made by Henry Berlon, who had studios in Bradford, including one opened at 7 Horton Lane (near Chester St) in 1859.
Leeds Public Library also has a copy listed in its catalogue, though at the time of writing (2010) it could not be found.
The British Library's copy has been scanned and published by Google Books.
The text from this scan was used to make this
fascimile, which includes images taken from the Bradford Library copy.
Memorial Window
After his daughter’s
death in November 1863, William Peel commissioned a memorial window in
The right-hand window, depicting Charity, is inscribed with Henrietta Maria's name. The middle window, Hope, shows her mother Rebecca's name.
Curiously, the left-hand window, Faith, was inscribed with the name of William Peel himself, some two years before his death.
The photographs of the window were taken, with permission,
on visits to the church in 2005 and 2009. The foot of the window is partly obscured by shadows cast by the stonework,
whilst the mid section is partly obscured by the gallery.
The window is described from the top down.
Click on the window
sections to enlarge them. Use the back button to return to this page.
For a more detailed description, see www.stpaulsshipley.org.uk/portfolio-item/peel-window-1870/ The three-light window depicts, from left to right, Faith, Hope and Charity. The upper part of the
window, which can only be properly viewed from the gallery, depicts scenes from
the gospels of John, Matthew and Mark – chapters that are concerned with
mercy, resurrection and healing. These are surmounted by three images of animals:
on the left is a Pelican with
her brood – this echo of an engraving on the title page of the 1611 King James
Bible is intended to symbolize sacrifice and resurrection; on the right is a lamb holding
a banner – a visual representation of Jesus, the Lamb of God; at the apex of the
window, a hovering dove shown with a golden halo probably represents the Holy
Spirit. The central section,
partly obscured by the gallery, consists of three square panels.
At the foot of the
window, the three Virtues are seen in the typical iconography of cross, anchor
and heart (represented by a mother and children). The names of William, Rebecca
and Henrietta M Peel are inscribed under Faith, Hope and Charity, reading from
left to right.
The centre panel, showing a pink urn and white lilies, is flanked by side panels with grey urns and white Yorkshire roses.
This was a departure from the two drawings that appeared in the Memorial:
The drawing after p 38 shows the Window as installed, above the pews.
All three panels have views of the family vault. The memorial plaque is shown on the left.
But the Window drawing after p 54 shows the Astronomy Room at Crag Cottage above Faith;
above Hope is the vault where Henrietta was interred; and above Charity is the new window itself.
Perhaps Peel was persuaded that a simpler, stylised design would look better than multiple views of the vault.
