| Ref No | MS 466/1/1/17/5 |
| Finding Number | MS 466A/565 |
| Title | Letter from Maria Fairfax (nee Cadbury) to George Cadbury and Elizabeth (Elsie) Taylor Cadbury |
| Level | Item |
| Date | 04 June 1893 |
| Description | This letter was sent to Elizabeth and George Cadbury by George Cadbury's sister Maria Fairfax (nee Cadbury) whilst George and Elizabeth were on holiday in Switzerland in 1893. In 1881 Maria Cadbury (1838-1908) married Joseph Fairfax (1840-1917) and moved to Boulogne in France. Whilst Elizabeth and George Cadbury toured Switzerland in 1893 their four children Laurence, George Norman (Norman), Elsie Dorothea (Dollie) and Egbert stayed in Boulogne with Maria Fairfax and her family.
In her letter Maria Fairfax remarks on the 'pure mountain air' which George and Elizabeth Cadbury would be enjoying and provides a report of their children's welfare. She also refers to Elizabeth's elder step-children Edward and George Junior. Fairfax writes that she had taken the children to the beach 'where the darlings were soon very busy with spades & buckets'. She also refers to some clothing which she was sending to Elizabeth Cadbury and a parasol which Elizabeth had left in the family's carriage in Boulogne. Maria Fairfax concludes her letter remarking that the family had visited a Wesleyan Chapel and Reformed Church. A long row of kisses appears at the bottom of the first page of the letter.
Please note that the dating of this letter is difficult to read. It is possible that the letter was written during August as a journal kept by Elizabeth and George Cadbury suggests that they visited Switzerland between August and September 1893.
Please note that the first page of this letter features crossed writing and is difficult to read in places. |
| Extent | 1 |
| Format | Item |
| Related Material | Biographical information about Maria Fairfax (nee Cadbury) taken from John F. Crosfield, 'A History of the Cadbury Family', Volume One, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), p. xix. |
| Access Status | Open |
| Language | English |