I have all sorts of things as I come (on my mother's side) from a long line of hoarders. The oldest thing I have is a silk printed paisley shawl which was given to one of my great-great grandmothers (I was told) as a wedding present in the mid 19th century. She had been a nursemaid for one branch of the Byron family and they gave it to her. It is huge: meant to be draped over and around a crinoline. But it is also a printed pattern, and not woven - as befits a servant!

I also have (amonst many, many things) my grandfather's notebook from the trenches in the 1914-18 war. It makes fascinating reading when it comes to what they actually were given to eat!

I won't add any more because I'd never end!

Andrea