Geography Lesson on Wales

A Welsh sampler serving not only as a lesson in stitching for young Mary Evans but also as a geography and history lesson combined. Mary was a pupil at Pwllhely School (spelled Pwllheli nowadays) in north-west Wales and she completed her task on the last day of October 1812.

The sampler features a central verse worked in black cross stitch, within a floral embroidered oval cartouche that reads:

Wales is 180 miles long and 80
broad was joined to
England in the Year 1282 …
WALES is divided into Twelve
Counties Six North Wales and Six
South Wales …
The Welch are Honest Brave
and Hospitable.

Around the legend Mary has stitched various decorative motifs of birds perched on branches, three- masted sailing boats, love hearts, stems of bluebells, baskets and vases of flowers, two cats and a peculiar-looking sheep, all contained within a strawberry border.