The extrordinary gatty women of Ecclesfield

OFTEN referred to as the Brontës of South Yorkshire, the Gatty women of Ecclesfield, a mother and four daughters, were truly remarkable women.

Local historian Melvyn Jones will be presenting an illustrated talk on the Gatty women at 7pm on Saturday September 15 in St Mary’s Church, Ecclesfield.

Mrs Margaret Gatty (1809- 1873) came to Ecclesfield in 1839 following her marriage to Alfred Gatty who had been appointed vicar of the parish. She had ten children, (eight of whom survived to adulthood) and was a pioneer of the use of chloroform to relieve pain in childbirth.

Together with her four daughters, Mrs Gatty headed a formidable team of researchers, illustrators, editors and writers. Mrs Gatty herself was a children’s writer of great renown. Her books were translated into French, German, Italian, Russian and Swedish and one edition of Parables from Nature was illustrated by the famous Pre-Raphaelite artists Burne-Jones, Holman Hunt and Millais.

She was also editor of a children’s magazine, Aunt Judy’s Magazine, that was read all over the world, an expert on sundials and a renowned marine biologist. Such was her scientific fame that she had a marine worm named after her – Gattya spectabilis! On top of this the four daughters were all educated at home by Mrs Gatty, and her four sons (two of whom were knighted) were prepared for their public school educations by Mrs Gatty and her daughters.

The daughters all played key roles in the Gatty enterprise. Eldest daughter, Margaret, was an illustrator and editor; Undine, the youngest daughter, for decades was a general factotum and Horatia the second daughter was hermother’s ‘seaweedising’ assistant and became a minor authority on the subject at a fairly early age. She went on to edit Aunt Judy’s Magazine for a further 12 years after her mother’s death and saw her mother’s last two books through the press during Mrs Gatty’s final illness. Horatia died in 1945 when she was 99 and for many years looked after copyright issues on behalf of her late mother and sister Juliana.

The second daughter, Juliana, who died at the early age of 43 in 1885, had an even greater literary reputation as a children’s writer than her mother. Her books were translated not only into French, German and Italian but also into Afrikaans and Hindi. Baden Powell took the name ‘Brownies’ for the junior branch of the Girl Guides from the characters in one of her stories. What is even more remarkable is that she derived much of her inspiration from ‘her local patch’ (Ecclesfield and Grenoside) – the countryside, the people and their dialect.

And these remarkable women left behind not only their published works but also diaries, letters, drawings and paintings reflecting their colourful lives and these form the basis of this illustrated talk.

Entry is free but you need a ticket from www. eventbrite.co.uk/e/ the- gatty-women-tickets- 47812377107 or from the church on Tuesday or Friday mornings, 10.30- 12.30. At the event a new book, Picture Perfect, with illustrations by Gatty family members will be launched.