THE STORY OF A SMOCK
[Article by Iris Annett]

The story starts with the late Netta Ellis, a resident of Ditchling and very supportive of local activities particularly if they related to the past and to the countryside, who had in her possession a shepherd's smock.

After a conversation with the late Frank Gregory I went back to Netta and said that the shepherd's smock should really go to a shepherd's hut, and I believe that it was donated to the Weald & Downland Living Museum at Singleton.

Whilst the smock was in Ditchling I used it as a pattern for the Jill Windmill Smock. Before getting really launched into creating a smock for Jill Windmill, I has several conversations with Frank Gregory, and he was a wonderful source of knowledge as to where I could inspect various collections of smocks, with a view to getting the correct embroidery thereon. The best collection was in the Worthing Museum.

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