| Ann Marian Fletcher | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Ann Marian Clarke 1851 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 5 June 1935(1935-06-05) (aged 83–84) Greenwich, New South Wales |
| Known for | Making the red velvet bag that accompanies The Ashes urn |
| Spouse |
John Walter Fletcher
(m. 1876) |
| Children | |
Ann Marian Fletcher (born Ann Marian Clarke, 1851 - 5 June 1935), was an Irish Australian embroiderer, school administrator, and boarding house operator. She is best known for embroidering the small red velvet bag that accompanies The Ashes urn.
Early Life and family
Fletcher was born Ann Marian Clarke, in Dublin Ireland in 1851, to Marian Clarke nee Wright, and Captain Joseph Hines Clarke. Marian and Joseph were the matron and superintendent respectively of the Newcastle Industrial School for Girls from the 26 January 1869 until April 1871. Prior to working at the school, her father fought in the Second Taranaki war in New Zealand, first as a Lieutenant, and then as a Captain.
Fletcher married John Walter Fletcher on 28 June 1876 at St Thomas's Church in Willoughby. They had six children, including Nora Kathleen Fletcher who was a decorated British Red Cross principal matron in World War I; John Fletcher a cricketer and politician; and photographer and fashion designer Judith Fletcher.
Career
School administrator
Fletcher's husband had started a school called Cooren College in Sydney. In 1884, the Fletchers moved the boarding school to Katoomba, and renamed it Katoomba College. Fletcher managed the school. In the 1890s the school was forced to close due to the depression.
Boarding house manager
After the college was closed, from at least 1892, Fletcher founded a boarding house in the college building, called The Priory. She ran the Priory until at least 1895, during which year, a rumour that it had been sold to the Catholic Church was refuted in the newspaper. The Fletchers listed it for sale in 1896, and they had left Katoomba by 1897.
Embroiderer
Fletcher's spouse John was involved with the Australian cricket team that won a game against England in August 1882 on English soil. That English loss led to Reginald Brooks writing an obituary for English cricket in the Sporting Times in September 1882. Ivo Bligh and his fellow English cricketers came to Australia from Christmas of 1882, and Easter in 1883. Along with the Australian team members and officials, Including John Fletcher, they were guests at Rupertswood, Sunbury, Victoria, the residence of the Sir William Clark, the president of the Melbourne Cricket Club. The teams played another three games, of which England won two of the three. During the visit, Clark's daughter, Lady Janet Clarke, and Florence Morphy presented the English team with the 'ashes of Australian cricket', in little perfume bottle re-styled into an urn. When Fletcher's spouse returned home, he told her the story of the matches, and the urn. Enlisting the assistance of their family friend, William Blamire Young, who designed an emblem with '1883' at its centre, Fletcher created and embroidered a little red velvet bag with the emblem, in which the urn was carried back to England by Bligh and his team. Bligh sent a thankyou note to Fletcher for the 'pretty little bag', in a letter that is now on display in the MCC at Lords, as is the urn and the velvet bag.
in 1907, Fletcher exhibited a needle painting that she created, with a design by Blamire Young, at the Women’s Work Exhibition in Melbourne, and the piece won first prize in its category.
Another of Fletcher's embroidery pieces, a fire guard, was donated by her daughter Marion Dorothy McLaurin to the Blue Mountains Historical society, and is on display in their Tarella Cottage at Wentworth Falls.
Death
Fletcher died at her Sydney home, 32 George Street Greenwich, on 5 June 1935.
References
- "Government Gazette Appointments and Employment". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 314. New South Wales, Australia. 29 December 1868. p. 4617. Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- Hopkins-Weise, Jeff (2018). "Taranaki Military Settlers and the Australian Context" (PDF). The Volunteers. 43 (3): 6–35. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. Vol. LXXIV, no. 11, 897. New South Wales, Australia. 5 July 1876. p. 1. Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "You Might Not Remember... J W Fletcher". Sydney Uni Cricket. 27 March 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ Ridge, Robyne (25 June 2023). "'Anne embroidered the bag in which the ashes travelled to England': Katoomba's link to the Ashes". www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- "Advertising". The Daily Telegraph. No. 4214. New South Wales, Australia. 28 December 1892. p. 8. Retrieved 22 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 17, 788. New South Wales, Australia. 23 March 1895. p. 6. Retrieved 22 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- "CHEAP MONEY". The Mountaineer. Vol. I, no. 36. New South Wales, Australia. 10 May 1895. p. 2. Retrieved 22 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 18, 091. New South Wales, Australia. 11 March 1896. p. 4. Retrieved 22 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- "A Singular Honour (Part 3)". Sydney Uni Cricket. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- "The History of the Ashes". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- "Ann Judith Fletcher". Design and Art Australia Online. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 398. New South Wales, Australia. 7 June 1935. p. 10. Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.