LONGE, Vera Mabel Wilhelmina

1904 - 1985

Vera Mabel Wilhelmina Longe was born at Ipswich on 31 January 1904, eldest of the two daughters of Herbert Davy Longe (18 March 1862-16 November 1949), son of Revd John Longe (1832-1916), Vera's mother was Selina Mabel Henrietta Thellusson (28 September 1871-31 December 1949), daughter of Colonel Arthur John Bethell Thellusson and Henrietta Frances Elizabeth Vernon-Wentworth of Aldeburgh, Suffolk; the Longe's married at Croydon on 25 April 1902. In 1911, 7-year-old Vera was living at Abbot's Hall, Stowmarket, Suffolk with her parents, 49-year-old Herbert, who was born at Lidworth, Sidmouth, Devon and 39-year-old Selina, who was born at Aldeburgh, Suffolk, with sibling 4-year-old Ena, who was born at Stowmarket, and they kept eight indoor servants. Vera’s passion for art led her and other local artists to establish the Stowmarket Art Club in 1959, and more than half a century later the group is still going strong. The club’s first meeting took place at The Royal Oak public house (now The Oak) on 11 February 1960 when Vera Longe was appointed Secretary. The Art Club’s launch even attracted the interest of ITV and the BBC and Vera recounted how the TV people brought a glamorous model to the Royal Oak, who posed on the bar while the artists sketched. She and her sister were both unmarried and the Misses Vera and Ena Longe placed seventy acres of farmland together with Abbots' Hall, its gardens, as well as 18-20 Crowe Street, in trust to be used as a museum which opened in 1967 and is now The Museum of East Anglian Life. Vera Mabel Wilhelmina Longe died at Abbotts' Hall, Stowmarket on 9 April 1985, leaving around £250,000. Her unmarried sister was Ena Thelluson Longe (7 April 1906-11 January 1997). The illustration shows Vera and Eva Longe at the opening of the Museum of East Anglian Life.

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Works by This Artist