October 2024

A coach party of members and friends enjoyed a private visit to the Warner Textile Archive in Braintree. 

Warner & Sons, founded in 1870, was one of the most respected furnishing silk manufacturers in the UK.   In 2004 Braintree District Museum Trust raised £2.6 million to save their complete archive for the nation.  It is the largest publicly owned collection of furnishing fabrics from a luxury textile manufacturer in the country, now housed in the original Warner & Sons mill which was refurbished to hold this significant collection of fabrics and records dating from the 18th century to the end of the 20th. 

The Archive contains hundreds of thousands of fabric samples: handwoven silks, velvets, printed fabrics; paper designs, jacquard loom punchcards, print papers, print blocks, pattern books, production and marketing records.  There is a huge amount still to be catalogued but the collection gives an extraordinary record of textile manufacturing across the centuries from production methods and trends to design development and changing fashions, marketing, sales and distribution.

Key designers represented in the Warner Textile Archive include Dora Batty, Edward Bawden, Frank Davies, Marion Dorn, Alec Hunter, Owen Jones, Theo Moorman, William Morris, Arthur Silver, Eddie Squires, Marianne Straub, Bruce Talbert, Bertrand Whittaker and Herbert Woodman.

Warner & Sons have a long tradition of supplying textiles for royal events and palaces. Queen Victoria was one of their  high-profile customers. She initiated a longstanding relationship, which was continued by many subsequent monarchs. Warner & Sons provided silks, and cloth of gold, for the coronations of Edward VII, George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II, some of which were re-used in the coronation of King Charles III. Their fabrics can still be seen in many royal palaces and residences, and thanks to the archive, unique decorative schemes and upholstery can be refurbished and conserved with exact copies.  

The archive is open to researchers and booked parties, a unique collection of extraordinary value anyone studying textile manufacture.

 https://warnertextilearchive.co.uk/

As part of the Heritage Open Days programme, a fully booked workshop held at the Millennium Library in September explored the Norwich Pine design, originally copied from kashmiri shawls in the nineteenth century by Norfolks' skilled weavers and developed by them on magnificent Norwich Shawls - the height of Victorian fashion.  There was a chance to lexperiment with the design and learn how to crochet, print onto fabric and embroider pine designs.  Two mother and daughter pairs joined in the fun, with a chance to see original Norwich Shawls up close for inspiration.

The summer came at last and, of course, we were then all a bit exhausted by the heat. So I was pleased to find that the Stafford Hall in the Costessey Centre was cool, even though it was a sold out event - as usual for the popular 'History Wardrobe’ events.

There were odd seats here and there between the various groups of friends, and I was able to sit relatively near the front. Several members had made an effort to dress in appropriately floral dresses, in keeping with the silk and roses theme.  I remembered that I had exactly the right dress for the occasion hanging in my wardrobe … life is full of these minor regrets.

The stage was set with handsome mannequins dressed in floral splendour and decorated with little flags and flowers.

Our chair, Caroline promoted future talks and events, which included our planned presence at the Worstead Festival held on the last weekend of July. Caroline was pleased to announce that we had the first opportunity to buy the new C&TA Christmas cards - prepared especially for sale at Worstead.  There was a round of applause but also a moment of shock at the thought of planning for Christmas this early.

Caroline then introduced the speaker, Lucy Adlington.  Many of the audience had been to Lucy’s ‘History Wardrobe’ presentations before and there was a buzz of anticipation; but some of us newbies were not so sure what to expect.

The first thing I noticed was that Lucy has a wonderful carrying voice which reaches the back of the hall without difficulty. I realised quickly that we were being treated not just to an erudite lecture on the relationship between gardens and fashion design … but a wonderful, almost theatrical, presentation using voice and movement … as well as showing us wonderful examples of her collection of floral costumes and textiles through the centuries.

The fabulous Lucy is an avid collector and her pleasure in sharing items she had collected, and the stories attached to the items, made the session very enjoyable.

So now no longer a newbie, I can thoroughly recommend ‘History Wardrobe’ to you next time an opportunity arises.


Helen Durrant
C&TA member

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Here is a brief note about the C&TA AGM and talk by Lisa Little of Sheringham Museum,
on 18th May 2024. The aim of this little piece is to give you a flavour of the event in case
you could not attend in person.
A friend of mine, when I asked her if I would see her at the C&TA AGM, said “Oh no, I
don't do AGMs.” But I have to say the C&TA AGM is such an exemplary affair I could find
no excuse not to attend. It is informative, briskly run and so mercifully brief. Minutes of
the last meeting, agenda and treasurers report were available. A variety of members
from the floor were quick to propose and second motions, so there was no tedious delay
and all the reports were clear and to the point.
The Jerningham Room upstairs at The Costessey Centre was full and there was a lot of
chatter in between the various presentations. I was impressed at the smooth transition
between officers, as we had changed both our Chairman and our Treasurer. The
previous post holders were properly thanked and flowers were presented. The
Chairman’s talk included thanks to many and pride in our achievements, in particular
the 35 th Anniversary Exhibition at the Norfolk Makers Festival, held in April at the
Norwich Forum. The Treasurer explained the audited accounts and our different
sources of income. The digital report highlighted how important the online talks had
become for the C&TA income and how they had extended our international
membership. There was a discussion of what I would call the digital divide and people’s
confidence in using new technology
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Ruth Battersby, Senior Curator at the Norfolk Museum Service’s presentation was very
interesting. She focused on the recent work of moving the collection and the importance
of location documentation; and highlighted the contribution C&TA had made to the
work of the Museum Service. She also explained the Norfolk Museums Service’s role in
the advisory services available to other heritage organisations
There was then a small gap in proceedings, so anyone who had wanted to avoid the AGM could arrive just for the talk.

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The speaker for the day was Lisa Little of Sheringham Museum.
Lisa spoke about her family connections to Sheringham. Her talk covered two main topics of great interest to
members: The first was John Craske, the fisherman, artist and embroiderer. Lisa
showed the design and development of a community piece in response to his work, the
‘Sheringham Seascape Embroidery’, a view of the Sheringham shoreline - this piece of
work-in-progress was set out on a table for us to examine afterwards. The second was
the East Anglia Gansey Group project [A gansey is hand knitted woollen jumper worn by
British fishermen], which included an insight into the development of the International
Gansey Day (23 rd November) and the ‘Gansey of Inclusivity’, a truly impressive piece of
5ft 8in knitting celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. Lisa’s enthusiasm and hard work
shone through her talk.

We hurried away promising ourselves a visit to Norwich Castle when the Keep
restoration project opens, and a visit to Sheringham, where the museum is open
everyday, except Sunday, as soon as possible.

Helen Ann Durrant (Member, C&TA)

April 2024: Ten day Exhibition celebrating the 35th (Coral) Anniversary of the C&TA at The Forum, Norwich.

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This summer we are very proud to have celebrated the publication of two new C&TA books - each  very different but both outstanding examples of their genre. 

Our authors were signing copies at the Worstead Festival at the end of July.

Dr Michael Nix has produced the first exhaustive history of the Norwich textile industry, a must-have book for academics and enthusiasts alike, whilst Stephen Worth's stunning colouring book brings to life the fashion for Norwich shawls in the nineteenth century in a delightful book full of lovely images and fascinating facts that will appeal to all ages.

They were joined by Helen Hoyte CBE whose beautiful illustrations and expert knowledge of Norwich Shawls and the Strangers - textile workers in Elizabethan times - are celebrated in her two books. 

It was a great day celebrating Norfolk's textile heritage in the grand medieval church in Worstead built from the proceeds of the medieval wool and weaving trade and in the good company of the Worstead Weavers, spinners and dyers who are keeping those ancient skills alive.

The York Re-visited Trip April 28th-30th 2023 - report from Barbara Coe

Those members who are regular supporters of the C&TA weekends away will remember that we last visited York in 2016.The year that witnessed  high spring tides which brought flooding to the centre of York and forced the hasty reorganisation of C&TA activities on that visit, with the York Minster Broiderers and Fairfax House coming to our rescue.
As was the case in 2016, ‘Wheatlands Lodge Hotel’ was our base for this year’s visit. It is a friendly, family run hotel with comfortable rooms, excellent meals and is within easy walking distance of the city centre. We arrived late afternoon on Friday and after dinner several members enjoyed a walk around the medieval city walls or into the city centre in the spring evening sunlight.

Saturday morning we were off to the National Quilting Museum where we were treated to a private viewing of key items in the collection. These involved not only wonderful eighteenth and nineteenth century quilts made by both aristocrat ladies and working women sewing to make a living but also a bikini and evening jacket!

Sunday morning marked a return visit to Fairfax House – built in the eighteenth century by a wealthy, local merchant as a town house for the York ‘social season’. We were given a guided tour before the house was opened up to the public at noon. The tour outlined the history of the house and the family who built it with special reference to garments and soft furnishings. Then after an al fresco lunch it was off back to Norwich with some happy memories of our second visit to York.