Mecerisation

this is a continuation of my blip on Tue 23 Oct.
I went swimming again today and the picture is of the benefactor of the hall housing the pool "Miss Maria Mercer".
The Hall was built between 1913-1921 and is named Mercer Hall.
Maria was the daughter of an eminent chemist John Mercer. John invented a process called Mercerisation which coated fibre threads to aid thier use in sewing machines etc.
I remember as child my mother buying sewing threads and always insisting they were Mercerised.