Born into a poor family in London and without a formal education, Hester Bateman (née Needham) became one of England’s most successful silversmiths in the late eighteenth century. Hester married silversmith John Bateman in about 1730 and inherited his workshop after his death in 1760, thereafter running her own family business for three decades.

(Out of Time, 23 September 2023 – 28 April 2024)