24th January 2025 marks 60 years since the death of Sir Winston Churchill. He was born 30 November 1874 at Blenheim Place, Oxfordshire, Winston Churchill went into politics after serving in the army.
Churchill served as a Member of Parliament from 1900 – 1922, 1924 – 1964, first for the Conservatives, then the Liberal Party, before defecting back to the Conservative Party. Whilst in office for the Liberal Party during Herbert Henry Asquith’s Government he was part of the Cabinet with North East MPs Walter Runciman and Charles Philips Trevelyan. Churchill and Trevelyan were already acquainted, having both attended Harrow School at the same time.
Portrait of Winston Church as part of the 1909 Cabinet when he was appointed President of the Board of Trade[Runciman (Walter) Archive, WR/30/2]
Walter Runciman was appointed President of the Board of Education and Charles Trevelyan the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education at that time.
In a letter to her mother, Mary Trevelyan, known as Molly wrote –
“I foresee that he is going to be rather the friend of the future. I like him quite much and he is very keen to be pleasant to me: he was a friend of Charles before we married.”
An extract of a letter from Mary Trevelyan to her mother of her liking to Winston Churchill [Trevelyan (Charles Philips) Archive, CPT/6/1/5/2]
In the immediate years before World War I, Churchill was appointed Home Secretary, then given the First Lord of the Admiralty post. He resigned his government post in 1915 and saw active service on the Western and Belgian Fronts.
After his military service Churchill returned to Government, first as Minister of Munitions, then Secretary of State for War and Air, before becoming Secretary of State for the Colonies.
As Secretary of State for the Colonies Winston Churchill was part of the delegation at the Cairo Conference in 1921. This conference included discussion on British control in the Middle East and would eventually lead to the creation of Iraq. The other delegates were T. E. Lawrence, Major Hubert Young, Herbert Samuel, Sir Percy Cox, Ja’afar al’Askari, Sir Hugh Trenchard, Sir Geoffrey Salmond, Sasun Hasqail, Geoffrey Archer, Field Marshal Edmund Allenby.
Gertude Bell, T. E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill, Clementine Churchill at the Cairo Conference 1921 [Bell (Gertrude Archive, Gertude Bell, T. E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill, Clementine Churchill at the Cairo Conference 1921. GB/PERS/F/003]
Churchill lost his seat in the 1922 election; however, he was one of 50 members to get the Order of the Companions Honour. In 1924 he stood as Member of Parliament for Epping as the Conservative candidate and was appointed Chancellor. In the 1929 election Winston retained his seat, however it was the Labour government who were the majority party.
During the 1930s Winston Churchill was not part of the cabinet, although he retained his seat. He spoke about issues of the day, The India Question, The Rise of the Nazi Party, and the Abdication Crisis where he supported Edward. He was against the appeasement trip to Czechoslovakia.
Churchill returned to the cabinet on the day World War II broke out as First Lord of the Admiralty, then after Neville Chamberlain resigned became Prime Minister of a coalition government in 1940.
During the Second World War, Winston Churchill and became known for his rousing and patriotic speeches which were commented on.
Extract of a letter written by Charles Philips Trevelyan to his wife Mary, known as Molly about Churchill’s speech and how World War II is going –
“So Churchill has said “Let there be light” and there was light.
So the ? won’t come. But what mistaken hope to reckon on real peace by December. There is no break yet in any of the defences of Germany itself. I reckon three months of the most terrible fighting and then a year of chaos before anything like an end can be.”
Extract of a letter written by Charles Philips Trevelyan to his wife, Mary, about Churchill’s speech and how World War II was going –[Trevelyan (Charles Philips) Archive, CPT/3/110/26.
Churchill and the Conservatives lost the election in 1945; however he remained as leader. In 1951 the Conservatives won the election with Winston as Prime Minister, however he was not in good health and stood down as Prime Minister in 1955. He remained as an MP until 1964.
Over the previous years Winston Churchill had suffered several strokes with the final one being on 10th January 1965. He died 3 weeks later and was given a state funeral on 30th January 1965.
Some say he’s the Greatest Briton that ever lived.
Page showing ‘Rounton Xmas 1919’ from Trevelyan photo album, Volume 9 (Charles Philips Trevelyan Archives, CPT-PA-8)
Page 14 from the Trevelyan photo album, Volume 8, ‘Rounton Xmas 1919’.
The Trevelyan family were a wealthy and important family who lived at Wallington Hall (a large country house) in Northumberland during the 19th and early 20th centuries. They played an important role in politics, culture and education.
Included in the photographs above:
Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan was a was a Liberal and then Labour M.P. and a wealthy landowner. He donated Wallington Hall to the National Trust in 1942, which is now open to the public.
Molly Trevelyan was the wife of Charles Trevelyan. She was the half sister to Gertrude Bell, who was an English writer, traveller, political officer and explorer.
Charles and Molly had six children; Kitty, Geoffrey, Patricia, Marjorie, Pauline and George.
Photograph annotations from top left to right:
Two top photographs annotated ‘K’, ‘P’, ‘Alisa?’, ‘MFR’, ‘HWR’, ‘MLB’, ‘GLT’, ‘Val’, followed by ‘BHR’, ‘Elsa’, ‘HB’, ‘FB’, ‘Molly’, ‘Marjorie’, ‘Bill’, ‘FPT’. The photographs show a large grouP of people posing outside for photographs. There are several generations of both Trevelyans and Bells represented.
Photograph annotated ‘a party of ragamuffins’, ‘F.P.T.’, ‘Killy’, ‘Marjorie’, ‘Biddy’, ‘George’. The photograph shows some of the children standing outside posing for the photograph, with a football at George’s feet.
Photograph annotated ‘B’, ‘P’, ‘K.B.’, ‘M’, ‘G’, ‘M’, ‘V’, ‘F’, showing the children sitting on one of the steps outside the house, posing for the photograph.
Photograph annotated ‘a roar of grandchildren’, ‘F’, ‘M’, ‘V’, ‘B.B.’, ‘M’, ‘K, ‘G’, ‘P’. The children have arranged themselves in height order, from smallest to tallest, against one of the walls outside the house.
Photograph annotated ‘Charles after a hot game of hockey’ , showing Charles sitting in his study.
February 8th 2019 marks 200 years since the birth of art critic and social thinker John Ruskin (1819-1900).
In our collections, substantial letters from Ruskin appear in the Trevelyan (Walter Calverley) Archive (WCT). Sir Walter was a naturalist and landlord of both the Nettlecombe and Wallington estates. Ruskin’s link to Sir Walter came through a close friendship with his wife Paulina Trevelyan (Pauline). It is to Pauline that the majority of the letters from Ruskin are addressed.
The correspondence from Ruskin in the WCT Archive reflect the friendship between Trevelyan and Ruskin. He advises her on her own artistic practice, reflects on his own work as well as discussing art, society and family matters. In his autobiography, Ruskin described Trevelyan as ‘a monitress-friend in whom I totally trusted’. This trust appears to have been returned, as Trevelyan was one of the few to stand by Ruskin during the collapse and annulment of his marriage.
Extract from a letter from John Ruskin to Lady Pauline, advising her on her own artistic practice (Walter Calverley Archive, WCT 39)
Both Trevelyan and Ruskin were supporters of the burgeoning Pre-Raphaelite movement. Trevelyan became an important patron of the movement, using the opportunity presented by roofing the courtyard at Wallington Hall, to showcase the style she enjoyed. The Great Hall at Wallington remains an important artistic monument, featuring eight large wall paintings by William Bell Scott. The floral designs which appear between the main panels were painted by Ruskin and Trevelyan themselves, among other figures from their social circle.
Their friendship came to an end when Trevelyan died in Switzerland, while she and her husband travelled with Ruskin. Both men were present at her death-bed.
Extract from a letter from John Ruskin to Lady Pauline, which includes his signature (Walter Calverley Trevelyan Archive, WCT 39)
The Trevelyan (Walter Calverley) Archive is available for public consultation and contains around 20 files of letters from Ruskin to Trevelyan, dating from 1848 to Pauline’s death in 1866. Images in this article are from a letter from Ruskin to Trevelyan dated 5th March [1849] which appears in WCT 39. Collections Captured also features images of Ruskin’s personal bookplate and annotations which feature in a book he formerly owned: The tea-table miscellany or, Allan Ramsay’s collection of Scots Sangs (18th Century Collection, 821.04 RAM).
Page from ‘The tea-table miscellany or, Allan Ramsay’s collection of Scots sangs’ (18th Century Collection, 18th C. Coll 821.04 RAM)
Letter from Geoffrey Washington Trevelyan to Father Christmas, 1917 (CPT Uncat/30)
This letter to Father Christmas was written by Geoffrey Washington Trevelyan, the youngest son of the politician Charles Philips and Lady Mary Trevelyan of Wallington (find out more about the Trevelyan Charles Philips Trevelyan here). Written at his grandparents’ house Rounton Grange on Christmas Eve 1917, when he was seven years old. Geoffrey requests that Father Christmas decorate the tree and bring presents for the children.
Geoffrey later became an engineer at de Havilland, and the 5th Baronet of Wallington.
Image from the uncatalogued Trevelyan Collection, CPT Uncat 56/4
This Christmas Card from John and Pauline Dower was sent in the second year of their marriage, and its clean, uncluttered style reflects the fashion of 1930. This card was likely sent to Pauline’s parents, Charles Philips and Lady Mary Trevelyan of Wallington (find out more about Charles Philips Trevelyan here).
The Dowers were both instrumental in the establishment and implementation of National Parks in England and Wales.
Postcard from Katharine Trevelyan (CPT Uncat 62/19
This postcard was written to Kitty [Katharine] Trevelyan, daughter of Charles Philips and Lady Mary Trevelyan of Wallington, when she was four years old. The card sends Christmas greetings and is signed ‘Edie’. It was written at the Victoria Home for Invalid Children in Margate.
The Trevelyan family were a wealthy and important family who lived at Wallington Hall in Northumberland during the 19th and early 20th centuries. They played an important role in politics, culture and education.
The card was published by the German company of E. A. Schwerdtfeger & Co. Information on the reverse reveals that this particular card was ‘imperfect’ – likely relating to the slight misalignment of the print leaving a thin white band at the top, and some of the information missing at the bottom.
A further three Trevelyan family albums have become available to browse and search on our Digital Showcase. They fill the gaps between those already available, and bring the family to a great turning point in their lives.
George Lowthian, Kitty and Pauline Trevelyan in 1909
Volume Six is an album of two parts – the earlier pages having been compiled prior to Charles and Molly’s marriage. It includes photographs of Charles at Harrow in the 1880s, and early photographs of the family’s homes at Wallington and Welcombe. These early pages include the marriage of Charles’ brother Robert Calverley to Elizabeth des Amorie van der Hoeven from Holland as well as photographs of Philips Park in Prestwich.
The second half of this album is compiled by Molly, and spans 1908 to 1911. There are many pictures of their three eldest children; Pauline, George and Kitty, as well as their extended family, including Robert and Elizabeth’s only son the artist Julian Trevelyan. There are photographs of the family enjoying the countryside on the Wallington estate, and visiting family at Stocks, Sidmouth and Welcombe. There are more wedding photographs, although this time from the wedding of the family’s former nurse – Florence Lister.
Charles and other cabinet members at Downing Street at the end of the first Labour Government, November 1924
The next album in this instalment is Volume 11, which is laden with cuttings and photographs relating to the first Labour Government in 1924, in which Charles became President of the Board of Education. By the time this album was begun in 1924, Charles and Molly’s family of six children was complete, and photographs of their youngest, Geoffrey, playing with his young Richmond and Bell cousins. Further ephemera in the album relates to Molly’s work with the Women’s Institute, and local events at Cambo.
One event which features across these albums and others is the famous ‘Trevelyan Man Hunt’. This annual event saw one or more participants designated as ‘hares’, whose would spend the day evading capture by the others – the ‘hounds’. From 1898 this event took place annually, based at Seatoller – a family holiday home in the Lake District. Charles was ‘Master of the Hunt’ from 1901 to 1934. These three albums include photographs from the hunt in 1909, 1910, 1924 and 1926-28.
Group photograph of participants in the 1926 ‘Man Hunt’
The latest album of the three, Volume 13, shows a great deal of change taking place within the family between 1926 and 1928. Much of the album reflects the children’s ongoing education, including the younger children at Sidcot School, Kitty as the title role in a school performance of ‘St Joan’, and a visit to Schule Schloss Salem – an elite reformist school in Germany. There are images of two eldest children in their new homes – Pauline at Wessex College, University College Reading and George in his rooms at Trinity College, Cambridge.
The Trevelyan cousins at Cambo in September 1926
As well as their eldest children starting their life as adults, the end of this album features cuttings and photographs relating to the deaths of Charles’ parents – George Otto and Lady Caroline Trevelyan. This marks the point in the family’s life where they left Cambo House – the home they had known since their marriage 25 years before, moving into Wallington Hall, and taking on the management of a large and neglected estate.
The second instalment of digitized Trevelyan family albums is now available on our Digital Showcase. We’re happy to say that a further three albums have now gone live, along with contextual information which allows you to search for individuals, places, or learn more about the images.
This group includes the first (although not the earliest) volume in the collection – Volume 1. Begun in 1894, when Mary Katharine Trevelyan [Molly] was 13 or 14 years old, it gives a valuable insight into her life before her marriage to Charles Philips Trevelyan. Born into the Bell family, wealthy industrialists in Middlesbrough, Molly’s father Sir Hugh Bell had joined the family firm, becoming director of the Bell Brothers’ steelworks in the town. Her mother, Florence Bell nee Olliffe was an author and playwright. Her family’s is perhaps most famously known for her half-sister Gertrude Bell, the archaeologist and diplomat.
Picture of Molly by Lilian Bell, 1894 (CPT/PA/1)
In the seven years covered by the album we see Molly and her extended family relaxing at properties in Red Car, Mount Grace and Sloane Street, London. There are also souvenirs from time spent in Germany in 1900, including concert programmes from Weimar and Berlin. The final few pages give an inkling of the following volumes’ content, as pictures from a visit to Wallington feature, with photographs of the impressive great hall and the exterior, as well as picnics with her future husband Charles on the estate which they would eventually manage together.
Great Hall at Wallington, 1903 (CPT/PA/1)
Volume 3, which also appears in this group, shows the early years of Molly and Charles’ married life together (1904-1906). At this point, their lives were split between Cambo House on the Wallington Estate, and Great College Street, Westminster, this album begins with many photographs of the couples’ friends, visits to family at Stocks House (the childhood home of Charles’ sister in law Janet Trevelyan nee Ward), Welcombe (a second home of Charles’ parents George Otto and Lady Caroline Trevelyan) and Rounton Grange (the Bell family home, recently inherited by Molly’s parents). Their love of animals is evident in the frequent photographs of cats and dogs, which appear alongside newspaper cuttings discussing Charles’ career as Liberal Member of Parliament for the Elland constituency in Yorkshire. The album ends with the birth of their eldest child (and first of seven), Pauline Trevelyan (later, Pauline Dower).
Sir Hugh Bell and Pauline Trevelyan, 1905, CPT/PA/3
Volume 5 continues on from volume three (handwritten notes added later by Pauline state that ‘there never was a vol. 4 a mistake in the binding!’). This album includes the arrival of their next two children, George Lowthian [Geordie] and Katharine [Kitty]. This album includes many photographs of their three eldest children playing together when young, as well as photographs and souvenirs of Charles and Molly’s trip to Italy. Marriage is very much a key feature of this album, and many invitations to weddings of their friends and family are included, as well as photographs and souvenirs from the wedding of Molly’s sister Elsa to Admiral Sir Herbert William Richmond (the parents of Lady Bridget Plowden].
Molly with Pauline and George Trevelyan, 1907, CPT/PA/4
The content of these albums shows the shifting focus of Molly’s world as she transitions from a teenager in an industrialist family to being the wife of a politician and heir to a landed estate and the mother of three young children. Consistent to all the albums though, is the importance of family. The scrapbook style combination of private photographs, souvenirs and publications, gives an intriguing insight into both the private and public worlds of the Trevelyan and Bell families. One which will hopefully be further understood once the ongoing cataloguing of the family correspondence is complete.
Exhibition can be seen on Level 2 Exhibition Space, Philip Robinson Library, until October 2016
The lives of Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan and Molly Trevelyan, as shown through their family photograph and ephemera albums, from the Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan Archive.
‘Showing the Way to Wallington’ gives a unique insight into the family life of Charles Philips Trevelyan and Mary Katherine Bell, who in 1928 made Wallington Hall their home until it was gifted to the nation in 1941. The images and articles showcased in the exhibition covering areas such as Arts, Politics and War, and come from the family photograph albums which Charles and Mary (better-known as Molly), compiled themselves in scrapbook form.
As part of an ongoing project, 39 Volumes are being digitised and converted into an accessible online virtual book format called ‘Turning The Pages’ by Karen Atkinson, our digitisation assistant in Special Collections. This exhibition contains some favourite and striking images along with interesting facts discovered in the course of her work.
The panel above is the first of 6 display cabinets and features a preserved ‘perfect, six-bloomed Sweet Pea’, which was pressed between the pages of Volume 10 of the Trevelyan family albums in 1922.
Volume 10 front cover (CPT/PA/9)
Here’s how the sweet pea stem looks in the album
Sweet pea stem in the album (CPT/PA/9)
Page 49 of the same Volume (image below) contains a newspaper clipping (see left) dated November 1923 and written about a gathering at the Village Hall in Cambo to honour the outgoing needlework Exhibition Secretary, Mr. Edward Keith, on his retirement. Apart from his other talents such as wood-carving and bee-keeping, Mr. Keith was also a well-respected gardener at Wallington Hall. The article pasted into Volume 10 reads, “His work is excellent and artistic. His sweet peas are famous nationally. The Wallington garden is one of the best in our country.”
Sweet peas and the beauty of Wallington are also mentioned in ‘Wallington’ by Sir Charles Trevelyan – Its’ History and Treasures [6th ed.] published in 1950 (Edwin Clarke Local, Clarke 631).
Page 38 in the Out of Doors section in Its History and Treasures:
“In summer the place is gay with flowers. Wallington is famous for its sweet peas, and near the house they often grow in a great profusion of colour.”
Page 39 in The Garden section:
“Below may be found beds of roses, lilies, gladioli, etc, but above all sweet peas, which two generations of Wallington gardeners have made famous.”
Shew’s the Way to Wallington The exhibition title was inspired by a border pipe version of a tune called “Shew’s the Way to Wallington”, the manuscript of which is dated 1830, and was written by Robert Elliot Bewick, son of the famous naturalist and engraver Thomas Bewick (1753-1828).
Below are the words to the song, found on page 3 of TREV/CET/76:
The Wallington Songster, found on page 3, TREV/CET/76
Postcard photograph of Mr and Mrs Charles Trevelyan, c. 1904 (Trevelyan (Charles Philips) Archive, CPT 1/3/4)
To celebrate the Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday 29th April 2011 we bring you a special ‘wedding’ treasure!
The postcard photograph above shows Mr. and Mrs. Charles Trevelyan with the Trevelyan family crest, which bears the motto ‘Time tests faith’. Charles Philips Trevelyan (1870 – 1958) married Mary Bell (1881 – 1966), the half sister of Gertrude Bell, in 1904. Special Collections holds Charles’ papers, the Liberal MP who famously defected to Labour in 1918. It is unknown what this postcard was used for. It dates from after their wedding in 1904 as they are identified as ‘Mr and Mrs Trevelyan’. It may have been part of a thank you note to guests for their wedding presents or simply a portrait of the newly-married couple that they sent out to family and friends.
Special Collections also holds the papers of Mary Trevelyan (who was known as Molly), including her diaries for the years 1892 – 1917. The page below is taken from her diary for 1904 and is among a series of entries regarding their wedding day.
Newspaper clippings from Molly Trevelyan’s diary, listing the presents that were gifted to Charles and Molly Trevelyan on their wedding day, 1904 (Trevelyan (Charles Philips) Archive, CPT 2/1/9)
They include her handwritten account of the wedding day with cuttings from the press and a complete list of gifts received by the bride and bridegroom.
This page shows one of three cut-out from the newspaper listing all the wedding presents they received and who they were from.
The fact that this was published in the press shows that the public appetite for information about the rich and famous has always been strong!
Gifts included a grand piano from the mother of the bride; a fur coat from the father of the bride to the groom; numerous collections of books and poems, including The Life of Gladstone from Mr and Mrs Gladstone; some letters written by Dickens; tea sets; writing desks; two grandfather clocks; hundreds of items of silverware; and more candlesticks and inkstands than anyone could ever find occasion to use!
Wedding presents have been given since ancient times. They have normally been practical items for the new couple’s home. However, in some cultures guests would have been expected to contribute to the wedding banquet as a thank you for their invitation! The idea of the wedding trousseau or ‘bottom-drawer’ put together by the bride’s family has its origins in the dowry. Dowry is an ancient custom, which has been practised around the world throughout history. This has often been money but can also include a selection of goods paid for by the bride’s family to furnish the newlywed’s home. As many newlywed couples did not have much money, the bride’s mother would put away household goods, including homemade items often in a bottom drawer, starting before their daughters had even met their future husband! The idea was to create a collection of everything a young woman setting-up her first home would need. Some ostentatious Victorians even introduced a ‘trousseau tea’ in an effort to out-do each other, where wealthy families would display trunk loads of linens, china and clothes they had put together for their daughters!
Nowadays, as many couples live together before marriage, wedding gift lists are more likely to include luxury items rather than practical ones and many couples choose not to have traditional gifts at all, instead asking guests to contribute money to a honeymoon, they could perhaps not otherwise afford. Prince William and his bride-to-be Kate Middleton have asked guests to donate money to charity rather than buy them wedding presents. This is likely to lead to hundreds of thousands of pounds being donated to the twenty-six, not very well-known, charities that the couple have chosen. Of course there are some advantages – they are less likely to end up with things they do not need. The Queen and Prince Philip received five hundred cases of tinned pineapple and ingredients for their wedding cake from the Australian people when they married in 1947. However, William and Kate they are still likely to receive numerous presents from the general public. Prince Charles and Princess Diana received thousands of presents from well-wishers around the world after their marriage at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1981, including a roomful of antique furniture from Canada and twenty silver platters inscribed with their wedding date from Australia. A selection of the presents was placed on display at St. James’s Palace and some items were later distributed to charity. After all there are only so many toasters and kettles that a Royal couple needs!
