Dorothy Devenish’s Coffee Service

On 26 September 1935 Dorothy Devenish, from Little Durnford Manor, married John Bradshaw – and she was presented with this wedding gift from the Little Durnford employees. The spoons bear her new initials ‘DB’. Those who donated towards the gift are listed inside the case lid. Growing up on the Little Durnford estate, Dorothy had developed a close personal connection and working relationship with the employees and was held in high regard. John Bradshaw was Canadian and in 1936 the couple moved to Canada with Dorothy’s mother Agnes, and their first child Roberta, or Bobbie.

Dorothy wrote about her life growing up in Wiltshire between the wars in  'A Wiltshire Home: a study of Little Durnford' which was published in 1948.