True daughter of the Dales: 'Emblematic' Hannah Hauxwell collection to go under the hammer

Quilts, stitched by the 'true daughter of the Dales,' Hannah Hauxwell, and her family are to go under the hammer in Harrogate
Hannah Hauxwell touched the heart of the nation with her interviewHannah Hauxwell touched the heart of the nation with her interview
Hannah Hauxwell touched the heart of the nation with her interview

The selection of quilts, made using the same pattern of quilting stitches - potentially a family pattern- will go on sale Saturday, February 9, at Tennants Auctioneers.

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Hannah caught the eye of the world in January 1973, when a Yorkshire Television documentary, Too Long a Winter, was aired and showcased the lives of a few hardy souls living in the harsh north Pennine winter

The selection of quilts will go on saleSaturday, February 9The selection of quilts will go on saleSaturday, February 9
The selection of quilts will go on saleSaturday, February 9

She broke the nation's heart with her interview, sharing that she earned less than £200 a year and there was neither running water or electricity in her home - a tumbledown cottage in the Baldersdale valley - but that she felt no right to any more.

Hannah had continued to run the family farm, Low Birk Hatt in Baldersdale, alone after the death of her parents and uncle when she was 34.

The dignity with which she conducted her life, reconnected older viewers especially with a Britain they thought they had lost.

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She became a household name, and there was an outpour of support - with food parcels arriving by the truckload.

Hannah worked the land of Low Birk Hatt farm in Baldersdale, alone from her early thirtiesHannah worked the land of Low Birk Hatt farm in Baldersdale, alone from her early thirties
Hannah worked the land of Low Birk Hatt farm in Baldersdale, alone from her early thirties

The selection of quilts, from her estate, will be part of the Costume, Fashion and Textile sale at the auctioneers. One of the quilts is initialed ‘E.B’, who is likely Hannah’s grandmother, Elizabeth Bayles.

According to Tennants Auctioneers: "All the women in Hannah's family were known to be accomplished seamstresses, and Hannah herself was very good with a needle. Indeed, she had a mattress filled with straw that she had made from a unique patchwork of fabrics.

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"Most of the quilts have been made using the same pattern of quilting stitches – perhaps a family pattern – and interestingly they each have three rounded and one squared corner."

Hannah would eventually move to nearby Cotherstone in 1988Hannah would eventually move to nearby Cotherstone in 1988
Hannah would eventually move to nearby Cotherstone in 1988

The collection of quilts from her estate are said to be 'emblematic of the tough, resourceful upland farmers of North Yorkshire and County Durham.'

After Hannah's 'discovery' in the seventies she would eventually move to nearby Cotherstone in 1988. She died at the age of 91, in 2018.

For further details call 01423 531661 or visit www.tennants.co.uk.