An Exhibition, Rotary Club Presentation and a Royal Visit!

Exhibition

We're very excited to share with you all the news that the University of Dundee will be hosting an exhibition on Mary Lily Walker from the 21st of June all the way through to the 12th of August.

Situated in the Tower Building foyer (the tall building situated just off of the Nethergate/Perth Rd.), it'll showcase letters, documents, pictures and more about the life and times of Miss Walker. Included will be items from her time at the University, when it had just opened it's doors as the University College Dundee - including lab specimens from her work alongside Professor Wentworth D'arcy Thompson.

Entrance to the exhibition is free, and it is disabled accessible from the rear of the building.


Rotary Club Presentation

Suzanne had the pleasure this week of speaking to the Claverhouse Rotary Club about our Mary Lily Walker events.  

This was a particular pleasure because it let her highlight one of many minor characters in Mary Lily's story. Hector Turnbull owned the Claverhouse Bleachfields, situated near the Dighty Burn in Dundee. Hector Turnbull was  Mary Lily's uncle, and was a witness at the wedding of her father and mother.  Our historical research has revealed that, when her father died in 1876, Hector was most unhappy about a prenuptial agreement that they had signed, and he refused to assist in legal proceedings concerning her father's estate. We haven't yet uncovered why he was unhappy! 

You can read much more about the history we've uncovered in Eddie Small's forthcoming biography.

This little story gives a sense of the many interwoven themes in our activities — especially when one of the Rotary members commented afterward that his house overlooks the site of the Bleachfields.

Here's a few photos of Suzanne giving that talk.

Many thanks to the Rotary members who wrote afterward to say how interesting and engaging they found the presentation to be.

Royal Visit

In other exciting news, Prince Charles came to Dundee last week and found the time to visit the Grey Lodge Settlement, which Mary Lily Walker left in her will to the people of Dundee.

Interestingly, it marks the second time that a Prince of Wales has visited the settlement. During his time there, Charles was entertained with traditional dancing and got to meet many of the volunteers who help keep Grey Lodge Settlement running today, 100 years after it's inception.

A full range of photos of the visit featured in local newspaper The Courier can be found at our Facebook page HERE