A 19th century cross-stitch sampler created by a 10-year-old pupil has returned to the school near York where it was made after being spotted at a fair.
Made by young Kate Banks in 1880, it is now back at Bishop Wilton Primary School, in the village of Bishop Wilton after it was offered at Jaguar Fairs’ antiques and collectors’ event at Wetherby Racecourse in West Yorkhire late last year.
The decorative sampler, with its four-line poem, had come to the fair with Selby Antiques, an antiques centre in Selby, also near York, via a house clearance in another nearby village. It was brought to the attention of the school’s administration officer, Mary Lazenby.
She said: “We bought the sampler from the Selby Antiques shop, who let us have it for £50, reduced from £75 as it was ‘coming home’.
“The pupils and staff here are proud and delighted to have this piece of our school’s history back where 10-year-old Kate created the work. We have discovered our school was built in 1868, so it was worked on in this school building.”
As for Kate herself, Lazenby added: “We know that she was the youngest of her siblings and lived at a farm just outside Bishop Wilton called Westfield Farm, now called The Grange.”
Lazenby would love to hear from anyone who has any more information to add to this story. She can be contacted at the school on 01759 368313.
