| Administrative History | Lilian Constance Murton (Miss Murton or ‘Murty’), was a lecturer in handicrafts at Whitelands College from 1929 to 1957. She had previously studied art in Vienna, where she had specialised in children's art.
She was responsible for the designing and making of the Whitelands May Queen robe from 1931. 'Much loved and admired by generations of Whitelands students, she was for many years the undoubted champion of the Whitelands May Day tradition.’ (David Peacock PhD thesis).
In the 1957 Whitelands Annual, former principal Miss Counsell wrote: ‘We shall all remember her high standards of craftsmanship, her ingenuity with her needle, and her originality in design which enabled her to produce year by year a May Queen’s robe, each apparently more beautiful than the previous one. It was always an amazement to me how time and again she wove something of the College into the robe she was designing, aspects of the Chapel and of St Ursula, almond, azalea and cherry blossom in the garden, and in one year the names of all the first-year students were embroidered on the robe with a crown over the May Queen’s name. And how well she guarded the secret of material, colour and design, and how much she enjoyed our surprise and admiration when she showed the completed robe to a favoured few on the eve of May Day.’
She was also a long-time and tireless treasurer of the Whitelands alumni guild.
Miss Murton retired in summer 1957 but was tragically killed in a road traffic accident on 4th September, only a few weeks into her retirement. The 1957 annual is replete with tributes from former and contemporary Whitelanders.
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