Brown offers you a chance to reflect on the life of Ann, and life for women in the eighteenth-century, as a time when women and their actions were watched. Brown draws inspiration from a number of elements of the Georgians culture. She notably draws on both Georgian 'Lover's Eye Miniatures' and the 'Secret Language of Flowers' that the Georgians used to create this piece of thought-provoking artwork.
Georgian culture and the life of Ann
From a young age Ann would have been coached to be an ideal wife, in the hope of securing a marriage to a man of social standing. Her education would have been simply to read and write, perhaps speak another language but mostly skills required to have children and be a good wife and manage a household; arrange flowers, develop and use herbal recipes and care for linens.
Ann would have worn the most fashionable dresses that she could afford. These dresses would have been beautiful and delicate and were carefully designed with intricate patterns and needlework.
Born of a modest family, Ann’s education and upbringing allowed her to marry Thomas Harley, a wealthy London Banker and Political Advisor. The couple married and went on to have eight children (five of which survived). Thomas’s fondness of Ann was apparent as he unusually transferred inherited estate into her name, meaning financial security for Ann should anything happen to him.
From this, the story of Berrington Hall begins. In 1775, the couple purchased the estate and shortly after designs for a stylish Neoclassical mansion began, an oasis for retirement in the countryside.
Sadly, we have no existing portraits of Ann, which is why we are so excited to display her court dress this spring, a rare piece of Berrington history to share with the public.
