Henrietta Pilkington was born in Ireland. Like Margaret Thomas, there is some ambiguity surrounding her date of birth. Pilkington met Margaret Thomas in London in the 1870s. With Thomas, Henrietta Pilkington had contact with Charles Summers, who completed a plaster bust of her in 1875, on the back of which her age is recorded as 27. From the 1880s onwards it seems that Henrietta Pilkington and Margaret Thomas lived and travelled together. On their travels, which are largely documented by Thomas's books, Henrietta Pilkington completed a large collection of watercolours. The loose style and limited pallet used in these works indicates that they were done hurriedly in situ, therefore creating an excellent record of their travels together. Margaret Thomas and Henrietta Pilkington's close relationship is immortalised on their headstone.