Wessex Museums


Mrs Ridout and the Coombe Bissett Express

Discover the little-known story of Maria Ridout and her Express carrier

From: The Salisbury Museum

Mrs Ridout and the Coombe Express c. 1878, is a keynote painting within The Salisbury Museum’s collection, depicting a humble woman and her donkeys conveying goods between Coombe Bissett and Salisbury. Notable in her lifetime, her celebrity grew with this painting by eminent local artist and portrait painter, Frank Brooks. 

 

 

Rural trade and craftmanship in the 19th century

Mrs Maria Ridout (1814 – 1886), was a ‘common carrier’ of goods and shopkeeper, who lived with her husband and donkeys at a small cottage in Coombe Bisset.[i] During the nineteenth century, in rural communities like hers, Mrs Ridout would have been a common sight, following generations of traders in Salisbury. 

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Salisbury experienced a flourishing trade producing cloth, leather, and cutlery. Consequently, many small portable items were made by women and sold by women, such as straws hats and gloves, and though some industries declined, rural crafts continued among families making sacks and cork cutting.[ii]

In Frank Brooks’ painting, many objects are visible from the depths of Mrs Ridout’s cart that reflect local craftsmanship and trade, such as straw baskets and red cloth. 

 

The journey

She made her journey between Coombe Bissett and Salisbury several times a week, stopping off at various public houses along the way to refresh herself and her donkeys. As she was a familiar sight in the area, she was a well-known character. Local man William Wagg recalls his father reminiscing about Mrs Ridout and the public houses she would frequent along her route – the Fox and Goose, the Anchor and Hope, and the Goat Inn.[iii] She soon caught the attention of rising young artist Frank Brooks, who was born in Salisbury in 1854 to the renowned photographer Henry Brooks. The Brooks family had firm links to the area, and were captured in stereoview by Henry Brooks, enjoying a day out at Stonehenge in the 1860s. This is the earliest known stereoview of Stonehenge, and it is in the Dr Brian May collection. 

 

An artistic friendship

Mrs Ridout made an impression on Frank Brooks, the aspiring artist, who was 24 when he painted her. In a letter to the Sunday Times, he wrote “I was then beginning my career as an artist and looking about for something to paint. The old lady and her donkeys struck me as an attractive and picturesque subject, so I thought I would try and paint a picture of her.”[iv] Brooks would often walk the journey with her, sketching as he went, and the pace of the cart was often so slow that he could walk backwards alongside and draw. 

It is significant that Brooks notes this painting as instrumental in the making of his early career. This painting brings together many local stories and perspectives, and despite class differences, a bond was formed between Mrs Ridout and Brooks. Brooks admired the rural simplicity that Mrs Ridout conveyed to him, depicting her with soft shades offset with warm hues, and the time he dedicated to sketching her makes us wonder what conversation they would have had. She appears in the painting a contented veteran of these repeated, long journeys, with her tired, affectionate donkeys by her side. The painting provides us with a record of rural life in the Salisbury area and reflects on the lives of hard working country women. 

Old Swan Inn Salisbury, Ayleswade Road, Wiltshire, with kind permission of Salisbury Museum ©
Frank Brooks said ‘she [Mrs Ridout] always made a stop at the old and picturesque inn called “The Swan,” for a last refresher for herself and the donkeys, generally, l think, from the same jug’. Old Swan Inn Salisbury, Ayleswade Road, Wiltshire, with kind permission of Salisbury Museum ©
Black and white photo showing a portrait painting of Frank Brooks by Frank Brooks, With kind permission of Salisbury Museum ©
Black and white photo showing a portrait painting of Frank, Brooks by Frank Brooks. With kind permission of Salisbury Museum ©

Curator’s Insights

The painting joined The Salisbury Museum collection in 1999, with financial support from the V & A Purchase Grant Fund, the Salisbury Museum Events Group, and donations from museum members. It is a firm favourite amongst staff and the public. 

Volunteer Bob Gann, who helped researching this showcase said;

“I like Mrs Ridout and the Combe Bissett Express because it’s a picture of an ordinary local woman rather than the rather pompous establishment figures in Brooks’ portraits. I also like the story behind the painting, in particular Brooks walking backwards in front of Maria […] so that he could draw her.”

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Find out more at The Salsibury Mueum website 
[i] Liz Batten, Maria Ridout’, in Her Salisbury story: Her Stories, Historic Women [2021].

 

[ii] ‘Salisbury: Economic history since 1612’, in A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6, ed. Elizabeth Crittall (London, 1962), pp. 129-132. British History Online.

[iii] Frogg Moody, ‘Bygone: Mrs Ridout and the Coombe Bissett Express’, from the Salisbury Journal [2022].

[iv] Mrs Ridout and the Coombe Express, The Salisbury Museum.

 

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