Jessie Mothersole

Born in Colchester on August 8, 1873, Jessie Mothersole trained at the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1891 to 1896, where she won prizes and a scholarship. She later studied with the artist Henry Holiday and worked as his studio assistant, building a career that joined art, fieldwork, and writing.

Mothersole took part in archaeological work in Egypt in the early 1900s, including the excavation season at Saqqara with Margaret Murray, where she made drawings and photographs. She went on to publish books that she illustrated herself, including The Isles of Scilly in 1910 and a well-received book on Hadrian’s Wall in 1922, based on both excavation reports and her own travels along the Wall.

She died in Kent on April 22, 1958. Remembered as an archaeologist, artist, and author, she stands out for turning close observation into books that made archaeology vivid for general readers.