Hannah Cullwick - Later Life

Later Life

Hannah lived in several places between 1880 and 1900. She lived in Wolverhampton with her only niece, Jim's daughter Emily Griffiths Gibbs (1856–1920) née Cullwick; then she lived for some time in Bearley near Stratford-on-Avon with Emily's father-in-law, Charles Gibbs and the elderly mother of Charles, Hannah Bonehill Gibbs and her two bachelor sons; then she moved to a cottage between Shifnal and Wellington, close to her brother Jim.

Hannah finally moved in 1903 to a small rented cottage in Wyke Place, Shifnal, owned by Jim Cullwick. Although she remained active until shortly before her death, her death on 9 July 1909 was recorded as "failure of heart action and senile decay". Aged 76, she was buried in St Andrew's churchyard in Shifnal and her stone bears the words: "she was for 36 years of pure and unbroken love the wedded wife of Arthur Munby of Clifton Holme in the Wapentake of Bulmer".

Munby died the following January, aged 81. He left an estate of £26,000. He bequeathed his books and 2 deed-boxes filled with correspondence, diaries and photographs, to the British Museum. They were unable to accept this legacy, and provision was made for the items to be kept at Trinity College, Cambridge and not opened until 1950. The daughter of Emily Gibbs (Hannah's niece) was Ada Perks (1882–1971), of Bankes Road, Small Heath, Birmingham. She asked if she could represent the Cullwick family at the opening of the boxes but was told it was a private matter. Dr. Ann Munby (great nephew of Arthur Munby) was in attendance.