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Thanks all, interesting ideas 😀

Thanks Sue, she wasn’t married to the solicitor, just worked for his family before her (only) marriage. Apologies for any confusion in my original post.

But a gift from his family when she left to get married does seem the most likely answer to me.

Thanks Andy, no idea if they owned any property …. after their marriage (1884) in Bristol they were living in Cardiff where he worked. Moved 4 times (same area) before 1890 when they had moved to live with her parents in Bedminster. Appear to have been there until 1892 (children’s births) but back in Cardiff in 1893. At one address until 1897, then one address 1898 to 1909, and 1910 to 1939 at another house in the same street. Have always assumed they were rented properties. He then moved in with a daughter shortly after that, having worked for the same company in a variety of roles (labourer, driver, tipper at a patent fuel works) for more than 50 years. They had 8 children, all but one (died on active service during WW1) still alive when he died.

Her father was a jobbing / domestic gardener until his death, and all 9 children (5 girls, 4 boys) were still alive, so not much to share out of his estate. As both fathers were labourers etc i can’t see any way they could have had much money.

Even if she did work (sewing, baking etc) that is a lot of money for her to leave (strange she didn’t make a will). Apart from my engagement and wedding rings, i personally only have clothes (nothing posh or expensive) and a small collection of Swarovski crystal. Everything else is ‘ours’ 😀

Have got both fathers’ wills, as well as the solicitor she worked for (could only have been a few years) but saved on a flash drive i can't currently access. Will look for them and also see if i can find out if their latest house was rented.

I'm wondering about the estate of a female relative who died intestate in 1935; administration of the £1,269 estate (almost £80,000 in today's money) was granted to her husband and eldest son.

Would this have been 'her' money? I'd always assumed that the money belonged to the husband - she didn't work after her marriage - and can't recall another case in my family history where a wife who died before her husband left money. He died in 1942, leaving a will amounting to £1,111, so presumably he didn't have any (or much) of his own. Her father left £400 when he died in 1909, left to eldest son, but 8 siblings in total.

She was a domestic servant in 1881 before her marriage in 1884, to a wealthy solicitor and family. He left just over £104,000 when he died in 1896 (£12,000,000 today) so i was wondering if she was given a gift when she left the family, but she is not mentioned in his will.

Any idea if this was likely, or any other ideas?

Thanks for reading

Cheers Comberton, brilliant. I did try newspapers but got loads of results for Webbers sweets, or deaths of people called Atkins.