July 2026
I have been developing work linked to (one of) my great great great great grandmothers, Anna Margaretta Lloyd Brereton. She lived in Norfolk in the 18th/19th century and, after the sudden death of her teenage son, she retired from society for several years, during which she created a beautiful set of bed hangings, currently owned and looked after by Norfolk Museums Service. I have always known about this textile work and have seen it once at the Time and Tide Museum in 2014 and, in March this year, I spent a day with Ruth Battersby, Senior Curator of Costumes and Textiles at Norfolk Museums Service, who generously showed me the hangings, and shared her expertise about the time they were made, materials and context. Below are a couple of photographs, first from my visit to Norfolk Museums Service – a tiny portrait of Anna Margaretta as a young woman, and the second of myself and Anna Margaretta’s portrait at the home she lived in all her adult life.
And here are a couple of drawings to give some of the idea of the context of a fourth times great grand relationship – I’m attempting to show that, while people have 32 fourth times great grandmothers, the fourth times great grandmothers have hundreds of fourth times great grand children!
Have been making, drawings, animations and sculptural work inspired by Anna Margaretta. Please watch this space for updates coming soon in 2026.
And here is a short clip showing some of the things that inspire me about Anna Margaretta Brereton’s life and work, that link with my own family experiences.
Here’s a link to information about the 2014 exhibition and an article by Carolyn Ferguson.