| Description | The first journal in Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury's collection of personal diaries covers her last years as a single woman living in London leading up to the month before her marriage to Quaker businessman and housing reformer George Cadbury. Although a label on the front of the diary states that it covers the period 1880-1888, dated entries inside the diary reveal that it actually covers the period 1881-1888. The first three years covered in this journal (1881-1883) have been described in detail here to provide an insight into the type of content contained within Taylor Cadbury's diaries. Entries in the diary typically record Elizabeth Taylor's involvement in philanthropic work in and around Peckham Rye as well as details relating to social activities, family visits and holidays. Written in note form, Elizabeth Taylor remarks in many entries about the health of her family and friends and the weather. It is notable that entries vary considerably in length and detail. Earlier entries in this diary are significantly longer than entries for the later years.
1881:
A number of entries for 1881 record the progress which Elizabeth Taylor was making with the class of teenage boys which she oversaw at the Peckham Friends' First-Day School. An entry for Sunday 9th October reads 'boys rather better'. In the same month Taylor reports visiting exhibitions, attending lectures, practising cooking and supporting temperance work through the Band of Hope. She also comments on attending the Home Mission Conference in November 1881 and describes her attitude and feelings on particular days, remarking on Saturday 5th November that she was 'lazy'. However, she writes that Sunday 6th November was 'one of the happiest days'. Taylor remarks frequently on attending Quaker Meeting, Bible classes and undertaking 'school work' which may refer to her work tutoring her younger siblings. Entries for December 1881 refer to Taylor's attendance at Chess Club, meetings at the home of her friend Elsie Hutchinson in Cavendish Square and her activities Christmas shopping with her mother Mary Jane Taylor. Diary entries written during the Christmas period provide an insight into festive celebrations in the Taylor household which included large dinner parties, musical entertainment and family visits.
1882:
In her entries for January 1882 Elizabeth Taylor refers to her leisure time being spent travelling around by train to visit friends and family. She also remarks on her mother's ill health as well as her organ playing and efforts to learn Latin. Taylor refers to supporting the work of local adult classes and her continued involvement with the local Mothers Meeting. In entries for February she remarks on suffering from a bad cold. Frequent references to organ lessons and a planned trip to Southport are also included. At the end of Feburary Elizabeth Taylor records a visit to her brother Wilfrid in Birmingham, entries stating that she had spent an evening at the house of Candia Cadbury, the stepmother of her future husband George Cadbury. She also reports visits to Kings Norton and Northfield at the beginning of March as well as further social meetings with the Cadbury family. However, the diary records that Elizabeth Taylor's ill health returned during this month, an entry for 6th March reading 'have been ill with overwork'. Entries for April reveal that she returned to Birmingham to visit her aunt Caroline Barrow, Taylor remarking on Monday 10th April that she had visited George Cadbury. Entries for later in the month reveal that she took part in a musical concert and saw a man nearly drown whilst on a boat ride to Chelsea. In May Elizabeth Taylor visited Coventry and travelled to Birmingham again to see her brother Wilfrid Taylor. She writes that she had seen workhouse homes in Marston Green and attended a charity auction. the diary also states that whilst in Birmingham Elizabeth Taylor attended an essay meeting at the home of the Cadbury family and visited the Severn Street Adult School in the City where she would later oversee a class of women. The names of many prominent Quaker families such as Lloyd, Sturge and Littleboy appear in Elizabeth Taylor's diary relating to her trip to Birmingham. In entries for June she remarks on the health and birthday celebrations of her siblings, as well as her own birthday. Her involvement in a choir concert, the local Mothers Meeting and a flower show are also mentioned. Elizabeth Taylor comments on preparations for her sister Janet's wedding, as well as reading Charles Darwin's 'Origin of the Species' in July. She writes briefly about the wedding of her cousin Gertrude Goodall-Cash in entries for August and makes frequent references to playing the organ at public occasions. Many entries for September and August refer to tennis matches, Taylor noting a visit to Southampton in September and remarking on her involvement with the work of a temperance hospital in London. She also watched Australian cricketers at the Oval during this month. Taylor remarks on her singing lessons in October before describing her difficult dental treatment in November, entries including references to dressmaking and family visits. In entries for December Taylor remarks on the death of her aunt Charlotte and provides an account of the Taylor family's Christmas celebrations.
1883:
Elizabeth Taylor reports her many activities with her younger brothers and sisters in January 1883. Entries reveal her increasing involvement in philanthropic work and participation in family and social activities, Taylor remarking that she was 'fearful busy' in numerous entries. In February Taylor records that she had caught a bad cold and had taken 140 pies to a treat held for her Mothers Meeting. Entries for March provide an insight into Elizabeth Taylor's efforts to continue her educational development through visits to the library at the British Museum and by attending lectures as well as performances of Shakespeare at the Lyceum Theatre. She remarks on gardening and painting in April and her continuing ill health after developing a bad cough. Entries for May 1883 record regular social visits such as a visit to Bedford on 24th May where Taylor notes she had taken lunch at a 'horrid veg. place'. Her attendance at Quaker Meeting is also recorded, a reference to an address by Jonathan Grubb featuring in the same entry. Elizabeth Taylor describes a trip to Paris with her father in entries for June, remarking on a visit to a 'Depot' which may have been the milk depot associated with the medical mission in Belleville where Taylor would later volunteer during the summer of 1885. In July 1883 Taylor's diary records that she spent much time with other local Quaker families with whom the Taylors were associated through kinship networks, such as the Pease family of Darlington and the Fothergills. She also describes the ill-health of her uncle and her regular participation in games of tennis. In entries for August Elizabeth Taylor records her travels in Switzerland with her aunt Caroline Barrow and a member of the Cadbury family. Taylor's diary entries for September and October 1883 are considerably shorter, including brief notes about her daily activities and the health of her family. Some dates during these two months have been left blank. Elizabeth Taylor describes her philanthropic activities in entries for November 1883 which included attending a Temperance Hospital Bazaars Concert on 30th November. Entries for December describe her social calls and family visits as well as providing an account of Christmas celebrations.
This diary also covers the whole of 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887 and the period from Sunday 1st January 1888 to Monday 18th June 1888, the day before Elizabeth Taylor's marriage to George Cadbury. Please note that entries in this diary are typically short and more detail about particular periods and activities, such as Elizabeth Taylor's visit to Switzerland in 1883 and her voluntary work in Belleville during 1885 can be found in diaries and correspondence relating specifically to these events. |