The Repair Shop viewers are left in tears after a 230-year-old family heirloom dictionary previously owned by Lord Nelson aboard HMS Victory is painstakingly restored
- Weather-beaten dictionary believed to have been used on board HMS Victory
- Family heirloom brought into shop by Adam who inherited from his grandfather
- Bookbinder Christopher Shaw got to work on restoring the historic item
- Viewers were impressed by the final result which left Adam ‘lost for words’
Viewers of The Repair Shop were left in tears last night after a dictionary once owned by Lord Horatio Nelson and used aboard his flagship HMS Victory was painstakingly restored to its former glory.
The 230-year-old family heirloom was brought into the Weald and Downland Living Museum in Singleton, West Sussex by Adam, who had inherited it from his grandfather Lionel White, after he passed away in 2018.
Professional bookbinder Christopher Shaw took on the challenge, and some viewers branded his impressive work one of the ‘best ever’ repair jobs on the show.
Adam told Chris and paintings conservator Lucia Scalisi how the weather-beaten dictionary came into his family’s possession a couple of hundred years ago.
The 230-year-old family heirloom was brought into the Weald and Downland Living Museum in Singleton, West Sussex by Adam, who had inherited it from his grandfather Lionel White, after he passed away in 2018
‘My family have traced it back to an ancestor of ours who was a midshipman during the Battle of Trafalgar. I think he was a first lieutenant during the battle,’ he explained.
‘We believe it was Horatio Nelson’s. If you open it up on the inside, it’s got “Nelson’s book” written in there, and I like to think he wrote that himself.’
Adam said the piece is really special to him not just because of its historical significance, but the fact it was handed down to him by his grandfather.
‘I can remember being a little boy aged eight years old and him showing me this for the first time,’ he recalled.
Opening up the dictionary, Adam revealed: ‘We believe it was Horatio Nelson’s. If you open it up on the inside, it’s got “Nelson’s book” written in there, and I like to think he wrote that himself’
Chris admitted he’d never held a book linked with ‘so much history’ and called it ‘absolutely beautiful’
‘I can remember him telling me the stories of the book, teaching me about the history of Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar. He took us to Portsmouth to go and see the ship.
‘It was a really, really special relationship that we had, and the family decided that he would have wanted me to have this book. I was really touched that they entrusted it to me so I thought I’d bring it to you guys to do him proud.’
He added that he’d got his grandmother’s blessing to have it restored, and hoped an ‘disappointing’ repair job done in the Nineties could be rectified.
‘I want to bring it back to, not its former glory because I don’t think that’s possible, but I want to be able to preserve it for future generations because I would love to be able to share that same relationship and tell those stories to my own grandkids one day,’ he said.
Adam said the piece is really special to him not just because of its historical significance, but the fact it was handed down to him by his grandfather (pictured together left). Pictured right: Lionel took Adam to Portsmouth to see HMS Victory
Adam admitted he needed his grandmother’s permission before bringing in the book. Pictured together with Lionel as a child
‘If there’s any way I can get that bad work undone, one of things as well is, I know it’s a factual book, but in many ways it’s a story book and it’s not the words telling the story, it’s the book and the pages.’
Chris admitted he’d never held a book linked with ‘so much history’ and called it ‘absolutely beautiful’.
‘I’m honoured to do this work for you,’ he told Adam.
Chris stripped back the black leather and restored it with calf leather, which he believes was the original material used to bound the dictionary in 1787.
When presented with the finished item, Adam remarked – ironically – he was ‘lost for words’.
When presented with the finished item, Adam remarked – ironically – he was ‘lost for words’
Chris stripped back the black leather and restored it with calf leather, which he believes was the original material used to bound the dictionary in 1787
‘It feels surreal, almost like when I first saw it, I’m handling it with the same delicacy,’ he remarked. ‘It’s phenomenal. I know granddad would be absolutely amazed.
‘It was really important to me for the book to look of the age that it is and you’ve gone above and beyond.’
To honour the memory of the dictonary’s previous owner, Chris kindly crafted a slip case with Lionel’s name embossed in leather on the front, to store it safely on the shelf.
‘It’s been a real challenge but I’ve really enjoyed it,’ the craftsman admitted.
To honour the memory of the dictonary’s previous owner, Chris kindly crafted a slip case with Lionel’s name embossed in leather on the front, to store it safely on the shelf
Adam replied: ‘That’s exceeded all expectation, I can’t say thank you enough. To see the work carried out on it is absolutely breathtaking.’
He added: ‘Seeing my granddad’s name written on there put a lump in my throat. To have my kids, my grandkids, remember him, is an addition to the book. I’m overjoyed and itching to go show my grandma now.’
Viewers were incredibly touched by the sentimental story, with many taking to Twitter to admit it brought a tear to their eye.
Viewers were incredibly touched by the sentimental story, with many taking to Twitter to admit it brought a tear to their eye
One tweeted: ‘Yup, just cried over a dictionary watching #TheRepairShop.’
Another wrote: ‘It was AMAZING how he blended the leather in that dictionary. I’m so impressed.’
And one commented: ‘That Nelson dictionary is one of the best repair jobs so far, absolutely amazing!!’
Other items restored in last night’s episode included a quirky train set built by the man behind the inventions in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a sailor’s trinket box, and a beloved doll from 1947.
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