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Miss Fellowes and her companions led the coronation procession from Westminster Hall to the Abbey scattering flowers, supplied by Mr Jenkinson of Maryle-Bone Nursery, according to ancient tradition to ward off pestilence and disease. Mary Raymer was the official Herb Strewer, appointed in 1793 until her death in 1836, but she was replaced by Miss Fellowes for George IV's coronation, when it was decided that the role required a woman of fashion.
Henry Rivington Hill, who with a companion had seats in a pavilion overlooking the procession route, reported in a letter to his sister Hannah Maria Hill in Exmouth, that:
"In a few minutes the herb-women turned the corner by the Champion's Stables. Miss Fellows [sic] is a woman about 50 but a fine tall figure. Accompanied by six very good-looking young ladies, three of them handsome"
Benjamin Robert Haydon remarked on their entrance to Westminster Hall after the coronation that:
"The grace of their action, their slow movement, their white dresses, were indescribably touching, ... Their light, milky colour contrasted with the dark shadow of the archway, which, though dark, was full of rich crimson dresses that gave the shadow a tone as of deep blood".
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Herbwoman's Attendant's Outfit worn by Miss Sarah Ann Walker, 1821, donated by Miss Helen Nussey, 1961 |
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Miss Sarah Ann Walker (b.1804) acted as one of the six attendants to Miss Fellowes.
She was given 10 guineas for her dress made from cream silk gauze woven with a crepe appearance. It has a wide neckline with a gathered bodice and high neo-classical waistline.
The dress is trimmed with a cream silk net and satin ribbon around the neckline and cuffs. Pink cotton and silk roses with green foliage decorate the hem and garland. Originally a cream Jacobean-style ruff stood around the back of the neck.
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A letter written by one of Sarah's sisters, Frances Foxcroft Walker, aged 13, states;
"Saturday 30th. Miss Fellows came and said she would be most happy to have such a nice young lady as Sarah for one of her maidens".
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Herbwoman and her six attendants
