Florence Grabham was born on 7 March 1874 in Pontefract, Yorkshire, fourth daughter of Dr Charles Grabham (1838-1891), a surgeon and physician, and Eliza Jane (née Leatham) (1840-1922).
On 27 October 1898 Florence was married at St Martin’s Church, Bedford, to Alfred John Drewe (1851-1942), manager of the Wiltshire and Dorset Bank in Cheap Street, Sherborne. A report of the wedding, which was evidently a very stylish affair, appeared in The Gentlewoman on 12 November 1898:
‘On the 27th of October at St Martin’s Church, Bedford, the marriage was solemnised of Mr Alfred J. Drewe, of Sherborne, Dorset, and Miss Florence Grabham, fourth daughter of the late Dr Grabham, of Pontefract, and of Mr Grabham, Bedford. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. F.W. Drewe, curate-in-charge of Lower Slaughter, Glos., brother of the bridegroom, assisted by the Rev. F.B. Phillips, rector of Oborne, Dorset, and the Rev. A. Hawkins Jones, vicar of the parish. The bride, who was given away by her brother, Mr Charles Grabham, wore a dress of ivory satin trimmed with embroidered chiffon, pearl embroidery and sprays of orange blossom, and she wore a tulle veil and carried a shower bouquet of white exotics. The bridesmaids were the Misses Edith and Beatrice Grabham, sisters of the bride. They were attired in cream-coloured satin, the bodices being trimmed with lace insertion over pale blue, and they wore long blue sashes and black picture hats trimmed with ostrich feathers. They carried bouquets of pink and white roses, which, together with gold curb chains bracelets, were presented to them by the bridegroom. The best man was Mr Cater. Later in the afternoon the newly-married pair left for London, en route for Paris, the bride travelling in a Prussian blue costume with white moiré revers braided with gold, and a large black hat trimmed with ostrich feathers and paste buckles. The presents numbered over 150.’
Florence and Alfred had three sons, all of whom were born in Sherborne:
- Patrick John Leatham Drewe (1902-1982).
- Geoffrey Grabham Drewe (1904-1986).
- Eric Charles Drewe (1907-1996).
On 12-16 June 1905 the Sherborne Pageant was performed at Sherborne Old Castle to celebrate the 1200th anniversary of the arrival of Aldhelm in Sherborne. Over 800 performers took part and it is estimated that it was attended by 30,000 spectators.
The Pageant was devised by Louis Napoleon Parker (1852-1944), a former music master at Sherborne School who by 1905 was a successful dramatist in London. Parker’s vision for the Pageant was that it should be a truly community event involving everyone in the town: ‘The participants must include every class of the community, both male and female: peers and ploughboys; dignitaries of the Church and all the clergy; ministers of every denomination; young men and maidens; old men and children; the beautiful and the less beautiful; youth is no hindrance, and age no bar; nobody is too good to be in a Pageant and almost everybody is good enough.’
The costumes worn by the 800 performers in the Pageant were designed Florence Drewe and Henry Hudson (1864-1943), with the assistance of Miss Prior (who also emblazoned the coats of arms with Mrs Ffooks) and Miss Margaret Mason (1874-1954), an assistant mistress at Sherborne Girls’ School. A report in the Western Gazette on 16 June 1905 described the results of their efforts:
‘..the costumes, many of which were gorgeous, and all interesting were designed by Mrs Drewe, a Sherborne lady, and Mr H. Hudson, the art master of Sherborne School, after reference to the best contemporary illustrations, the greatest care being taken in their historical accuracy of detail. The dresses were made, and Sherborne is justly proud of the fact, by the women of the town, under the supervision of Mrs McAdam, the wife of Major McAdam, and others… All the players taking part in this great drama were anonymous, and as an illustration of the spirit in which the celebration was brought about, each performer, besides sacrificing his time at scores of rehearsals, which, by-the-bye, were carried out under the direction of Mr Parker, paid for the costume he or she was to wear.’
Years later, in his autobiography Several of My Lives (1928), Parker paid tribute to Florence Drewe saying that what she didn’t know about costumes wasn’t worth knowing!
Florence also took part in the Pageant, appearing in the Final Tableau as the embodiment of Sherborne England, alongside Parker’s daughter Dorothy who appeared as Sherborn USA. The stage directions described the scene as follows:
‘When the dance ceases the Maypole is removed, revealing at the back of the stage a lofty white dais, on which is standing a majestic figure emblematic of Sherborne, robed in flowing raiment of white bordered with gold, a golden castellated crown upon her head. Beside her and similarly attired, but crowned with three silver stars, and skilfully draped with a striped silken scarf embroidered with silver stars, is a beautiful figure, symbolical of the American Sherborn. On to the steps of the dais mount four tiny maidens in white, charged with a model of Sherborne Abbey, while four little Red Indian boys bring a model of the Mayflower. These the children present to the Mother and Daughter cities; descending, they turn to the West and to the East, and beckon to the whole company to take their places for the final tableau.’
By 1911 Florence and Alfred Drewe and their three sons were living at 70 Lansdowne Road, Bournemouth, where Alfred John Drewe died on 4 December 1942. Florence Drewe died on 20 May 1961 at ‘Allington’, 10 Littledown Road, Bournemouth.
Rachel Hassall
See also:
- Sherborne Pageant Stitchers
- The 1905 Sherborne Pageant
- Sherborne Pageant March Past, 1905 (YouTube)
- Mother of All Pageants: the great Sherborne Pageant of 1905, presented by Gerald Pitman (2001) (Windrose Media Trust)