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Newmarket bedpan collector's items at Peterborough exhibition
A bedpan collector said it was "lovely" to see two of her rarest finds included in a private exhibition in a Jacobs, 77, from Newmarket, Suffolk began collecting bedpans in 1984 eventually ending up with decided last year to sell them and sold two made by Shelley - a renowned Staffordshire pottery - to Julie Stevenson, 54, from Peterborough who collects this Stevenson held a private exhibition of her Shelley collection at Peterborough Cathedral on Sunday where she invited Mrs Jacobs to come and see her former bedpans.
"It was a private viewing - they are all private collections so you can't go and visit them," Mrs Jacobs explained."It was lovely to see two of them again... it's unusual that the bedpans are plain white with writing on them."Most of the Shelley collections that Julie had were all coloured and different designs."Shelley closed in 1966 and it is believed the two bedpans were made for the NHS in 1948, the year it was founded.
Mrs Stevenson, who is also a Peterborough councillor, explained her exhibition was for the official collectors group, The UK Shelley China of the group were in attendance from across the region as well as the Mayor of Peterborough and several councillors."I came upon the idea of hiring a space at the cathedral to highlight a selection of pieces from my private collection after realising I have a few bits that specifically tie in with the venue," Mrs Stevenson said. Within her collection of about 800 items, Mrs Stevenson has a jug from 1911 with an illustration of Katherine of Aragon who is buried at the cathedral as well as a 1920s ginger jar decorated with pomegranates that were Katherine of Aragon's symbol.
"The cathedral team went above and beyond to ensure we had a lovely afternoon. I cannot thank them enough," Mrs Stevenson said. "It was wonderful to see Mary again and to show her how her slipper pans fit in with my collection, and for her to meet other pottery enthusiasts."Mrs Jacobs sold the majority of the rest of her bedpans to a collector in the United States.
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