Mystery woman and cottage. Requesting help to identify location (UK) and date

[Trishanne]

I have tidied it up a little for you. I have seen opening windows like this somewhere, so it must be in the Westmorland area.  There are still many cottages with the small panes, but not ones that open I would think.
All the villages around Kirkby Lonsdale are familiar to me, it could be Arkholme, Whittington, Dent anywhere around this area.
I feel I have seen this before, has it been posted earlier.
Pat

[sarah]

It would be interesting googling any addresses you may have from the 1901 Census.

Sarah

[Westby]

Thanks Pat. I have posted this on a couple of chat sites, though a couple of years ago, so you might have seen it then.

Interestingly Sarah, I was going back over my family tree and I don't think there were any relatives still living in Westmorland by 1900. My great grandmother had sisters around Marton, and Freckleton, Lancs but no close relatives in Westmorland.

The mystery continues!

[JGDavies]

Could be Wales - there's differences but similar.
http://www.peoplescollectionwales.co.uk/items/18545

[Westby]

I agree JG but I don't have any reason to believe we have any Welsh connections!

[Mike in Cumbria]

... However, the windows inn my cottage are different from these photos and from any I've seen elsewhere.  As you'll notice, they are quite large for the building, and only have small openings.  I've had suggested the cottage could have belonged weaver's or other trades needing plenty of light to work....

The small pane windows in your photo are typical of workers' cottages at the end of the 19th century. I suspect that, in the photos I posted, these have since been replaced by sash windows.

[Westby]

Yes, that had also occurred to me Mike.  I can image easy opening sash windows would appeal rather than the tiny panes with very small openings.

Do you think the cottage could be further west and south in Lancs?

[LizzieL]

Photo dating has suggested 1901-08 based on the woman's dress. It's also been suggested the photographer was probably an itinerant with no fixed studio address (hence the lack of information on the mount). In the Victorian and Edwardian eras, travelling operators toured the hamlets, villages and small towns where there was no permanent photographer and photographed local residents by appointment.

My thoughts were also very early 20th century, comparing dress with some of my ancestor's photos of that era. The lady looks like she's wearing her best dress and nice polished shoes. So an itinerant photographer who has made an appointment to take her photo would fit. It looks like the family next door are also dressed up too, so perhaps waiting for their turn with the photographer.
The drawn curtains may be just to keep out the sunlight and stop carpets and upholstery fading - my grandmother always did that in her "sitting room". I think there is too much decoration on the lady's dress for it to be a mourning outfit.
I don't know what others would estimate the lady's age to be. I guess around 50, but I have found people often seemed to look older than they actually were in those days.
Why is she being photographed on her own? A widow or spinster perhaps?
Have you any ladies born about 1860ish who might be living on their own by early 1900?

[Mike in Cumbria]

Do you think the cottage could be further west and south in Lancs?

I'm not as familiar with that area as I am with Cumbria and Yorkshire, so I wouldn't like to say. All I know is that that style of cottage is exactly typical of this area.