Christian Learmonth (< 1719 – 1762) was a Scottish milliner and shopkeeper in Edinburgh. Her life is known because of a court case over her will. She left her estate to her lodger and her sisters disputed this.

Life

Learmonth was baptised in 1718. Her mother was Christian Livingston from Parkhall near

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

and she died whilst she was a child. Her father was John Learmonth. She was the only girl in a family of five until her father remarried and she gained three half sisters and her step-mother Anne Crawford. Carruber's Close plaque, High Street - geograph

Carruber's Close plaque, High Street - geograph

Her millinery business was in Lyons Court and she lived nearby in Carrubber's Close off the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

in Edinburgh. One of her lodgers in Lyons Court was Lady Charlotte Gordon whose father was the second

Duke of Gordon The title Duke of Gordon has been created once in the Peerage of Scotland and again in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Dukedom, named after the Clan Gordon, was first created for the 4th Marquess of Huntly, who on 3 November 1684 was c ...

. Learmonth's business was assisted by £200 supplied by Lady Gordon and when Learmonth died on 12 August 1762 she left her movable goods to Gordon. The will was dated 20 May 1756. This will was contested by two of her step-sisters, Ann and Jean. They were also milliners. The dispute went to court and Ma(r)y McCrabie, another milliner, who had known Learmonth since 1745 said that she had been told by Learmonth that she intended that all of her possessions would go to Gordon after her debts were paid after her death. The value of her will was £5472 12 shillings and five pence. The value is known as every item was itemised and the list is extant. This gives a detailed insight into her business and the fashion of the time. She created caps and handkerchiefs to order so there is a record of the materials that were used at the time. A similar list exists for Elizabeth Brown(e) of Norwich who was in the same business and these are of great use to historians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Learmonth, Christian 1719 births 1762 deaths British milliners Businesspeople from Edinburgh 18th-century Scottish businesspeople 18th-century British businesswomen