Object of the Month: March 2025
Drawing of Pelter Bridge (4th April 1898) by Sophia Armitt (1847-1908)
We have many works of art in our collection, but we felt the best one for April’s Object of the Month was this lovely drawing of Pelter Bridge by Sophia Armitt, the eldest sister of our founder Mary Louisa Armitt.
Sophia was born in Salford in 1847, although her exact birth date is unknown. She was the eldest of three sisters, born to Mary Anne (nee Whalley) and William Armitt, an overseer for the City of Salford. Her younger sisters Annie Maria and Mary Louisa (nicknamed Louie by her family) were born in 1850 and 1851.
William was adamant that his children would receive a first-class education, even in the 1850s before universal primary education was widespread in the UK, particularly for girls. All three sisters had specialist subjects, and Sophia focussed her studies on botany and art, even attending the Manchester School of Art.
In 1866, nineteen-year-old Sophia and Annie Maria went to Paris to study French, but they returned home the following year when their father died suddenly, and they faced possible financial ruin. To support themselves and their mother, Sophia and her sisters established their own school in Eccles in Lancashire. As the eldest, Sophia became the headmistress, middle sister Annie taught general subjects, and Mary Louisa, aged just fifteen, taught music. The school was apparently a success, as the Armitts continued to study, attend lectures and travel alongside their teaching duties.
Annie married Dr Standford Harris in 1877 and moved to Hawkshead soon after. In 1882 Sophia and Mary Louisa received a family legacy which gave them an independent income to live on. They decided to follow Annie to the Lake District, and all three sisters were settled in Rydal by 1894, where they remained for the rest of their lives. The sisters had a large circle of friends in the area, including John Ruskin, Charlotte Mason and the Arnold family at Fox Howe.
This drawing by Sophia depicts a bridge, likely Pelter Bridge in Rydal. This bridge is situated over the end of the garden for Rydal Cottage, the home shared by Mary Louisa and Sophia back then. On the back of the drawing, Sophia has written a short poem:
O the stream of separation! But how oft communication-
Bridge of interchanging thought-
Is by pen and paper wrought.
April 4th, 1898
Sophia had many health issues throughout her life and died in 1908 at around 61 years of age. When her youngest sister Mary Louisa died in 1911, she left a bequest to open a museum and library in her name in Ambleside. As the sole surviving sister, Annie Maria saw the museum open on 8th November 1912. The Armitt sisters’ books, artworks and letters are now part of our collection.
Learn more about Sophia and her sisters by visiting us in Ambleside.
Sources:
• The Armitt Collection
• The Armitt Story Ambleside by Eileen Jay
• The Armitts: Sophia and her Sisters by Barbara Crossley
• Botanical Society of the British Isles
