lilla miller /Mrs Rosewarne

Arts; Entertainment, Community and Voluntary Action 

1916–2002 

Suggested by Marie Splatt:

“Lilla was a great entertainer, a true Camborne lady. She worked as a secretary in Holman’s office for 40 years, raised a lot of funds for the Diabetes Association, was a lifelong member of Centenary Methodist Church, Cambourne and was a great friend.” 

Edited together from Cornwall Yester Year & Somerset County Gazette:
“Lilla Miller lived in Camborne all her life and entertained audiences for decades with her gossipy character, Mrs Rosewarne. Lilla, a shy person came to life through her drama.
Dressing up in worn old shoes, flowery print dress, bear-skin coat – she called it bearskin because of the bare patches, topped off with a straw hat with battered roses, she became Mrs Rosewarne, her loveable, comic alter ego. Her material was inspired by her grandmother’s generation and her stories were about the neighbours or adapted from other stories.
She was an inspiration for the next generation of Cornish comedians including Jethro. She regularly performed stand-up shows and was still entertaining right up to her death. 

When asked if she ever worked from a script,
“I tends to size ’em up when I get there, and tell ‘em a few new ones if I’ve bin there before.” Mrs. Rosewarne never did more than 20 minutes without a break as she would hate to be like the old preacher.
“We used to have a local preacher ‘an this particular Sunday ‘e was some long-winded. I thought ‘e was never gonna stop. Well this ‘ticular Sunday ‘e was preachin”bout the prophets. ‘Ventually ‘e began t’slow up a bit an’ ‘e said, ‘Now we come to Isaiah. Now where shall I put Isaiah?’
Just then this li’l man at the back jumped up an’ said, ‘Put ‘en in my seat ’cause I’m goin’ home to ‘ave some dinner.’  

You can hear Mrs Rosewarne’s dulcet Cornish tones on tapes made by Chough Recording available on the Sounds Like Cornwall Youtube channel. 

 Mrs Rosewarne Entertains