Lymington Calling Book (1883-1893)

By Colin Bower

Approximately 20 years ago my mother bought a small leather Calling Book on Lymington Market. When she gave the book to me, she could not tell me why she bought it, though she thought that it was valuable!
When I first studied the book, I found that a Victorian lady started to use it in 1883 and there were references to Lymington and the St Barbe Family. As most of the entries were in pencil and in danger of deteriorating, I thought that I would list the entries and donate the book and list to the St Barbe Museum in Lymington.
When I started, I expected it to be a short simple project but I soon found that it was difficult to read the writing and the Victorian lady did not always put the year in question. I started digging into local history to get some clues. Gradually it emerged that this lady met the cream of society in the Lymington area during the years 1883-1893. The result has been an absorbing hobby during which I have learnt a lot about the local history of the Lymington area. This project report summarises the main information that I have gathered so far.
Naturally I would dearly love to find out the name of the Victorian lady who kept the Calling Book and the reason for publishing this article is to: Find the Lady!