Envelope-to: duffus@clara.co.uk
Delivery-date: Wed, 15 Jun 2005 14:48:57 +0100
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Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2005 14:44:45 +0100
Subject: Mortcloths
From: Dorothy Cumberland <dorothy.cumberland@virgin.net>
To: "innes a. duffus" <duffus@clara.co.uk>
Message-ID: <BED5EF58.C0B%dorothy.cumberland@virgin.net>
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Dear Innes A. Duffus,
You may remember we spoke at an Archives Lunch time talk and I was going to
get in touch with you about an embroidered mortcloth.  Sorry I've been so
long, circumstances beyond my control and all that.
I've been getting a bit stuck in the 1650s and now, before that, in the
Guildry Accounts book, because of the Cromwell thing and Montrose etc. - and
now, because I'm working backwards, into the 1640s.
There don't appear to be any ordinary accounts and disbursements including
receipts for mortcloth hire, before 1645, and I am wondering whether it's
possibly due to the fact that before the plagues (last one in Edinburgh I
think 1645 or so) they didn't use mortcloths until they had to.  Have you
any idea of when they began to be used?  I would like to find out.
I think at earlier dates simply shrouds were used, or as Iain Flett said,
good Dunfermline linen!
Of course, there may have been earlier records which have been lost, the
book I have been working on is marked apparently with water after a fire,
and has been re-bound, maybe some years were lost.
I hope you can shed some light on this as you seemed to know a bit more
about mortcloths.
Sincerely, Dorothy Cumberland