Betty Ratcliffe

Elizabeth Ratcliffe (c.1735 – c.1810) was a British artist and lady's maid known for creating model buildings, which are displayed at Erddig, North Wales.

Biography

Elizabeth (nickname, "Betty") Ratcliffe was born about 1735 in Chester to a clockmaker.[1][2] She worked as a lady's maid to Dorothy Yorke, née Hutton, of Erddig. Her nickname there was 'Betty the little'.[3]

Betty produced drawings and models at the request of her employers (and for the antiquarian Thomas Pennant).[2] In 1767, she completed a model of a Chinese pagoda from vellum, mother-of-pearl, and coloured glass for Philip Yorke, Dorothy's son.[1][4] In 1773, she completed a model of the Roman ruins of the Temple of the Sun in Syria, inspired by Robert Wood's engravings of the ruins published in 1753.[5][6] Her other works held by the National Trust include paintings and needlework pictures.

Although Betty was a valued servant who had access to the house's resources and library,[7] Dorothy's letters indicate that she asked Philip not to commission Betty again as Dorothy feared that she would lose Betty's service.[2]

Betty died about 1810 in Liverpool.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Valeriani, Simona (2017-10-24). "Betty Ratcliffe: a Unique Eighteenth-Century Designer • V&A Blog". V&A Blog. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  2. ^ a b c d Conroy, Rachel (2025). Women Artists and Designers at the National Trust. pp. 74–7.
  3. ^ Brimacombe, Peter; Bullen, Annie; Lilwall-Smith, Andrew; Hodge, Susie; Collinson, Clare (2009-08-15). Period Living & Traditional Homes Escapes. Jarrold Publishing. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-7117-3594-1.
  4. ^ Greeves, Lydia (2021-04-29). Houses of the National Trust. National Trust. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-911657-36-1.
  5. ^ "Temple of Sun". National Trust Collections.
  6. ^ Wood, Robert; Fournier, le jeune (Pierre Simon); Major, Thomas; Müller, J. S.; Müller, T. M. Jr; Borra, Giovanni Battista (1753). The ruins of Palmyra, otherwise Tedmor, in the desart. Smithsonian Libraries. London: Robert Wood.
  7. ^ Purcell, Mark (2019-09-03). The Country House Library. Yale University Press. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-300-24868-5.
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