Gathering clues from Margot’s extraordinary objects

“Compelling” and “original” are just two of the epithets used to describe a historical research strategy lately popularised by Neil Macgregor. The approach involves taking a sample of artefacts or possessions to explore past events or the lives of famous figures. Recently adopted by John Hughes-Wilson and Nigel Steel for uncovering intriguing stories behind the First World War and Paula Byrne for evoking the world that shaped Jane Austin, the approach appears completely unrestricted in applicability. Here we test it out on an eclectic set of items that once belonged to former Walton Cardiff resident, the late Mrs Margot Walker Greaves – with, often, fascinating results.