Alix Jennings

Memories of Mrs Alix Jennings 1884-1980

By Joan Edna Farmer

I first met Alix Jennings when I was living in Farnborough, Hampshire, there was a knock at my front door. Upon opening the door, I saw a frail looking lady with some sort of trolley cart which was full of paintings she was hoping to sell. I asked her in although at the time I did not want to buy any, whilst in my home she invited me to look around her studio Raeburn Studio which was also her home.

I visited Raeburn and Mrs Jennings was pleased to see me and more so to show me her works of art. I explained I could not afford the prices she had on the paintings but ‘quick as a flash’ she told me “but you can pay in instalments”. (a canny Victorian lady). Yes, I decided I could do that and over the years I purchased quite a few and Alix and I became friends. Often Alix would invite me to have afternoon tea with her and she would set the table in the dining room with lovely crockery, cutlery and a beautiful 3 tier cake stand with dainty cakes. Over tea Alix used to talk about her husband who was an Air Raid Warden during the war and sadly how he was no longer here, she had a painting of him on her wall.

I can still see her clearly in her home which was also her studio, a long room with patio doors leading into her garden. Alix sat the other end with her green Visor perched on her head, her face blotched with various colours of paint happy as happy can be amongst her easels, frames and paints. If you were to look down to her feet you would see that they were always bare, no slippers for her. As the house was rather large she used to have a student staying in one of the rooms upstairs.

Mrs Jennings went on to tell me about her two sons, I think David was the one who was a chorister singing in St Georges Chapel in Windsor. At the top of her stairs she had a beautiful painting of him in his Choristers outfit, sadly as a man he had to go to war during 1935-1945 and lost his life fighting for his country. Alix’s other son was named Tony and it was he who later wrote me a letter regarding his mother.
One funny story she told me was when she was heavily pregnant and whilst on her way home she became absolutely exhausted after a particularly busy day. There was nowhere to sit other than the kerb so that’s where she sat. Telling me this story she turned to me and remarked “and me a Victorian lady” and then laughed.

Another memory was when she invited me and my daughter to lunch and upon our arrival, we were shown into the dining room where the table had been so correctly laid. When lunch was served it turned out to be her ‘Meals on Wheels’ which she shared with us, I found that very amusing. It might also be of interest to learn that Mrs Jennings wore hearing aids which is nothing unusual, however she named it Billy and frequently told them off as they would whistle.
In her studio hanging on the wall was a large painting of a crowd of people featuring just their faces, Alix told me this was a painting of all the ‘Heads of State’ going way back. I would like to have purchased this painting but unfortunately it was priced at ‘One Thousand Guineas’ and I believe a Builder in Farnborough bought it. It may be of interest to mention that all her paintings were priced in Guineas and never in Pounds.

There is one painting which is very unusual and there is a story behind it, it is titled the Rare Bird. Mrs Jennings told me she had a ‘vision’ and this is how she described it to me. During a heavy thunderstorm she saw a huntsman walking in the woods and she had a vision of a ‘Rare Bird’ flying overhead, it had the appearance of a man with the wings of a bird. The huntsman shot it and it fell to the ground, turning to her easel Mrs Jennings created the painting of the Rare Bird covering private areas with a leaf after all “I am a Victorian lady “ she remarked.

I remember one afternoon someone had to go in the attic for her and brought down a very high back chair which she found very amusing for some unknown reason, perhaps she had a private memory of that chair?
One afternoon she was going through her sideboard which held lots of her paintings and she showed me one of the Shah of Persia it was magnificent.
One day I asked her why she did not use canvas anymore and she said this was because one day she was exhibiting her paintings and someone came along and managed to make a hole in one of her paintings on canvas.

Mrs Jennings used to drive a Morris Estate car and sadly came the day when she had to give up driving, I was looking for a car at the time and made her an offer which she declined as her granddaughter had just passed her test and she would love her to have it, a lovely gift.
During my last visit to her she asked me if I liked her latest painting of a carthorse in a field. “Mrs Jennings” I said very meekly “it has no head”. “No head” she exclaimed “well let’s put one on now”, which she did, it was a very funny moment.
I had moved away from Farnborough but we still kept in contact and I tried to visit as often as I could. One day I arrived to find the house quiet and seeing clearance boxes on the drive of her home I realised something was wrong. There was no-one at the house so I scribbled a note leaving my name address and phone number. Some days later I had a call from her son informing me that she had been found unconscious on the floor and the decision had been made for her to leave her home/studio to take up residence in a Nursing Home. I received a letter from Tony Jennings (her son) informing me of the Nursing Home address so I was still able to visit her.

I had received several letters from Mrs Jennings over the years but sadly I cannot find them but I do remember she always used the same envelope which I had used for my letter to her, she simply scribbled out the address wrote my address on it and put a new stamp on it. I do however still have the letter from Tony Jennings.
I have very fond memories of Mrs Alix Jennings and she was as described herself a very Victorian lady.