Quiz Trail Question of the month...

Where in Kent? Margate …

Margate’s Sophie Booth, affectionately known as “Mrs Booth,” was the inspiring muse and companion of J.M.W. Turner – dare we say mistress?! A twice‑widowed landlady, she ran the guesthouse on Margate’s harbour front from the 1820s. Turner was drawn to Sophie, who offered him both lodging and enduring affection

Their relationship, blossoming in 1833, saw them live as “Mr and Mrs Booth” for nearly two decades. Not merely emotional, Sophie's support was also financial, sustaining Turner until his death in 1851

In 2008, sculptor Ann Carrington immortalised Sophie in the striking bronze Shell Lady statue - standing some 12 ft high on Margate’s Harbour Arm. She gazes out to sea, shell‑clad and silent, paying homage both to the town’s souvenir tradition and the woman who once inspired one of Britain’s greatest painters

Crafted from enlarged shells fashioned into a graceful form, the monument stands directly opposite the Turner Contemporary gallery - built upon the very site of Sophie’s former guesthouse.

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The Margate Quiz Trail & Town Souvenir – order at www.QuizTrail.co.uk