Jessop's Jaunt

Mrs Mary Ann Kilner complete with bonnet, was said to be the oldest woman firework maker in the country at this time, She was not only the mother of Harry Kilner but daughter of Allen Jessop. Mrs Kilner told reporters that, as a girl of eight (Mary Ann Jessop) she would stand on a stool, filling fireworks, with a chuckle, the grown ups would sit on barrels of gunpowder to work. I used to work from six in the morning until ten at night, but look at the young people today they are idle. Mary Ann Kilner died age 91 in 1941.

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