Katharina Buczek
In fact, Anna took the linen bedsheet that James had slept on while imprisoned and embroidered a heartbreaking inscription on it using human hair.
“The sheet off my dear, dear Lord’s bed in the witched Tower of London. February 1716. Ann C of Darwent = Waters,” the inscription reads.
The sheet was also decorated with flowers, leaves, and heart bands in linen thread– suggesting that the linen likely came from Anna and James’ home since prisoners were forced to furnish their own living quarters.
Keeping the hair of deceased loved ones in a memorial ring or locket was a common practice during this time. But Anna’s choice to use hair as a thread was incredibly original.
And now, the three-hundred-year-old inscribed bed sheet will be on display at the Museum of London Docklands starting this October.
The sheet will be a part of the new exhibition entitled Executions, in which the history of those who faced public execution in London will be explored via objects, stories, and legacies. Finally, Beverley Cook– the exhibition’s curator– revealed one more fascinating tidbit about this bedsheet. The inscription contained hair from two different people.
“Anna Maria used two distinct hair colors– one fair and the other much darker– interwoven to make a thicker, longer, and more workable thread,” Cook began. “It’s possible this hair came from herself and her husband.”
To learn more about this chilling piece of history, you can purchase tickets to the Executions exhibition by visiting the link here.
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