Travel Diary of Frances Lyall of Cheltenham

Personal diary kept in a lined notebook to record details of three separate trips made by Frances Lyall, in 1889 to Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, in 1893 to Monte Carlo, and in 1897 to Switzerland, with hand drawn illustrations and glossy reproductions of engravings depicting scenes from the various places she visited, as well as brochures, tickets, programmes and photographs kept as holiday souvenirs.

Frances Lyall's name appears on the first page of the diary as Frances E. Lyall. The diary also contains two photographs of her as a young girl, one of which is inscribed with her name on the back, Frances Elizabeth Lyall. This photograph was taken at a studio in London, while the second, later one was taken at a studio in Cheltenham. There is no evidence to suggest her age at the time she was writing, but it would seem that she was fairly young. She mentions travelling from Cheltenham with her father at the beginning of the first trip described in her diary, and returning there at the end of the holiday. Another loose enclosure is a visitor's permit issued in Monaco in 1893 for Frances Lyall's father Dr David Lyall. His date of birth is given as 1 June 1847. Kelly's Directory for Cheltenham dated 1894 contains a listing for a Dr David Lyall, MD, at 1 Priory Parade. The fact that she was travelling with a companion known as 'Willie' on her last recorded trip in 1897 seems to suggest that she may have recently married.

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