Mathilda Brinkworth
Mathilda Brinkworth


The lady known in the village as 'Aunt Tillie', came into the world when William IV was on the throne and lived through the reigns of Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and George VI. In her life she had been to the Great Exhibition and seen Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, heard Charles Dickens lecture on David Copperfield at Calne Town Hall, and seen Edward VII and Queen Alexandria in their carriage pass through Chippenham. Her mother had died when Mathilda was 21 so when her coal merchant father became Mayor of Chippenham in 1857 she became the town’s youngest Mayoress. Following her father’s death she moved to Bratton to live with her sister Mrs Saffrey Whittaker at Yew Trees and became active in the Baptist church.

She was described as a picture of Victorian charm and lady-like daintiness in her silks and laces and when she celebrated her 100th birthday in 1935 Mathilda was the oldest inhabitant of Bratton. She received 24 telegrams (including from The King), 61 letters of congratulations, many beautiful bouquets, and 38 presenting (including a fireside stool made and delivered by the children of Bratton School). It was also the day of a General Election and even the inclement weather did not stop her visiting the Polling Station and exercising a democratic right that she’d had to wait until her 93rd year to be granted.

Cared for by her two nieces, Mathilda went on celebrating birthdays, with cakes bearing over 100 lighted candles and more visits from school children with flowers, until she passed away three days after her 104th birthday. It was reported in national newspapers that ‘Bratton’s Grand Old Lady’ was the oldest woman in the West Country. While it was hard to imagine that this delicate featured little woman, who had grown beautifully and gracefully old, had once been a keen dancer, she still retained her high sense of duty and quick sense of humour.




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Bratton History Association.

The Bratton History Association aims to provide all those curious about local history with an opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, and discover more about the history of Bratton and Wiltshire. Activities include monthly meetings, talks by professional historians, visits to places of interest to historians, and our own local history project.

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