Posted by Peter Hyland on June 05, 2014 at 09:00:41 user Peter_H.
In Reply to: Re: Arthur's voice posted by Magnus Smith on June 05, 2014 at 00:24:24:
"similar families like the Collingwoods"
I hate to remind you, Magnus, but W. G. Collingwood was born and bred in Liverpool ! No doubt he had lost any accent by the time he was at Oxford. However, it is possible that his three daughters had a slight north country accent. It would depend on where they went to school, or whether they went to school at all. It has been pointed out that in the really well-off families (which the Collingwoods were not) the daughters were often educated at home by a governess, with the result that they retained some of their local accent. We know that Emma Holt (model for 'the Great Aunt') had a slight Lancashire accent all her life. Maybe the real G.A., Maria Turner, had a North Riding accent. . . And on that mind-boggling note, I will end.