Copper kettle with history

What to do on a grey, rainy day in the country?

Look around the cottage for something to photograph.

I found three magnificent copper cooking pots, one stamped with the original owner's name and a maker's name.

The inscription reads:

MRS. CLAUDE. WATNEY WEGUELEN

And so the research on Mrs C W W began.

Born Ada Annie Nunn (1868 - 1938), she first married Sherman Martin, son of wealthy American parents, when she was only 21 and he 19. He lead a rather intemperate life and the marriage did not last long.

She remarried in 1985 (after Sherman's death) to Claude Watney and remained married until his death in 1919.

She married again in 1925 and became Mrs Bernard Weguelin. She died in 1938 at the age of 70.

I note the use of the husband's name in the description!

Claude was born in 1866 in London. His father was Mr James Watney Jr who was a Member of Parliament and a wealthy brewer who owned the firm Watney and Co. Claude was educated at Eton and Oxford University and then entered the family business where he rose to become Director in 1898.

He married Ada in 1895 and the couple seemed to have a fairly active life. They were both interested in motor cars and were mentioned in the motoring journals. One journal mentioned that Claude owned a Pipe car and was an all-round sportsman whose horses were famed for their mettle and speed. The article also mentioned that Ada Watney owned a Pipe, a Panhard and a Mercedes and was one of London’s best known lady motorists. Her Pipe car was described as a “most tastefully upholstered car in cream and painted in electric blue with a pretty canopy and bowed glass dust screen".

The cooper kettle maker's name is inscribed in a circle

Jones Bros
Down St W.

Jones Bros. was a London ironmonger business, located on Down St. W. (very near Buckingham Palace), that existed between 1832 and 1900. Part of their business was the manufacture of copper cookware and medical sterilizing equipment.
One of their copper marks is: “Jones Bros. Down St. W.” stamped in a circle. However, it appears that they also marked their copper cookware with one of the initials of the customer for whom the cookware was being made.

Or in this case the full name as above.