From Pauper to Palace
………………………… Alice Collier’s Story
We welcomed Mr and Mrs Taylor to our meeting on Tuesday 19th September to tell us the story of Alice Collier, one of a family of Scarborough children who were taken into care after the untimely death of their mother.
Alice and her elder sister, Annie, were sent by train to Ripon to spend their childhood at the Industrial Home for Girls in Bondgate.
Conditions were fairly harsh but, apart from a period when an especially unpleasant matron was in charge, life was in many ways better than that endured by many impoverished citizens of Ripon in the 1920’s and 30’s.
The missing ingredient of course, was love. The girls were trained for a life in service, it being unthinkable that they should be educated ‘above their station’.
So it was, at the age of fourteen, Alice went to work for a local clergyman. Although by now profoundly deaf (a hereditary condition) Alice proved to be a good, reliable servant and gradually worked her way up to become cook in her master’s household and to win the affection of his family.
She accompanied them in their moves about the country which culminated in the occupancy of the Bishops’ Palace close to Sandringham in Norfolk. Here, Alice was sometimes called upon to produce meals for members of the Royal Family.
After her retirement she was persuaded by the Bishop’s grandchildren to write an account of her years at the Girls’ Home. This she did, together with some pencil illustrations. She eventually gave permission for these to be published in book form, but sadly did not live to see this happen.
The facts of the story, as narrated by Mr Taylor, were greatly enhanced by his wife’s reading of extracts from Alice’s memoirs.
