11/01/2022
If you'd like to learn more about Mary Wortley Montagu, then head down to the bookshop where you'll find 'The Pioneering Life of Mary Wortley Montagu' by Jo Willett available to purchase with 20% off the RRP 🤩💸
Along with our partners NT Wentworth Castle Gardens, we have commissioned Gobbledegook Theatre to research and explore the life of Lady Mary Montagu, a woman with ties to Barnsley who lived a fascinating life. Over the next week, we will be sharing daily content on Facebook, Instagram and Instagram, exploring the different elements that made Lady Mary’s life so extraordinary.
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762) could be described as a woman of vision.
In 1721, against popular opinion and the resistance of many within the (male dominated) medical establishment at the time, she brought the practice of variolation (smallpox inoculation) from Turkey to Britain. It saved countless lives, 75 years before Edward Jenner introduced vaccination against smallpox.
Her achievement is commemorated by a plaque on the Sun Monument in Wentworth Castle Gardens, near Barnsley. It was the first monument in Britain dedicated to a woman’s ‘social achievement’ – and a non-royal woman at that!
Over the next few days, we’ll follow artist Lorna Rees, exploring Mary’s life and legacy today. How does Lady Mary Wortley’s Legacy relate to today?
As part of this project, Lorna commissioned an extraordinary dress inspired by Mary’s life. Created by a team of brilliant designers and makers, this dress references some of Mary’s incredible story including her connection to the science of inoculation, pioneering public health campaigning, travel to Turkey and her love of literature and fashion - all of which we’ll be looking at in more detail during this week.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wentworth-castle-gardens/features/encounters-lady-mary-wortley-montagu
