In this piece I describe briefly a fascinating lecture for the C&TA Pamela Clabburn Memorial
Lecture 2024, given by Amy Hare, Senior Lecturer in Contextual Studies at the Royal School
of Needlework (RSN) and an Associate Lecturer in Costume History at UAL Wimbledon.
​

The Pamela Clabburn Lecture was given to a lovely full room on the afternoon of Saturday 28 September. We were in the Jerningham Room, upstairs at the Costessey Centre, where it
is easier to see the screen clearly, rather than the larger but light-filled space downstairs.
Our guests of honour were Ken and Lisa Clabburn, who are generous sponsors of the C&TA.  The annual lecture was given in memory their renowned relative and C&TA founder, Pamela
Clabburn.


The RSN describes itself as:
‘The International Centre of Excellence for the Art of Hand Embroidery since 1872.
Based at the magnificent Hampton Court Palace, south-west London,
we offer a thriving education programme for everyone from beginner to degree level […] Our
renowned Embroidery Studio creates stunning bespoke embroidery for fashion, art and
royalty, as well as expertly restoring and conserving valuable and historical embroidered
pieces.’
Amy’s talk introduced us to the RSN, its history, founding ethos, and current incarnation.
She was unapologetic about the role of patronage in the founding and development of the
RSN, hence my title: Crown, Church and Couture. Amy shared some of the exciting work that
the degree students are involved with, and the role of the school as an educational
institution was explained.
Amy also showed us highlights of the RSN’s own collection, which was for me the most
interesting part of the talk. One theme was samplers (spot samplers, alphabet samplers,
technique samplers, sample garments etc.) and their role in women’s education. I had not
seen map samplers and so, when I got home, I looked at images of globe samplers from the
USA. Another image which interested me particularly was the Queen’s Robe of Estate
worked by the RSN Embroidery Studio for the recent coronation of King Charles III and
Queen Camilla (6 May 2023). https://royal-needlework.org.uk/her-majestys-robe-of-estate/
The highly-skilled master-embroiderers worked on nine textile pieces for the coronation -
including the Anointing Screen, with its tree bearing 56 leaves representing all the countries
of the Commonwealth. It also includes a phrase well-known locally: ‘All shall be well and
all manner of things shall be well’. These are the words of the 14th century Norwich mystic
and author, Julian of Norwich, also known as Mother Julian.
The RSN collection is currently being digitised and is very accessible, even if access to the
physical objects is limited to temporary exhibitions, teaching and research. Another
interesting digital project is the ‘RSN Stitch Bank’ which is a useful resource for both makers
and researchers. 

There was an interesting discussion of the role of embroidery as an aid to recovery for
soldiers, and the hidden history of men as embroiderers. I enjoyed Amy Hare’s curatorial
approach and the wealth of examples she used to illustrate her points.
After the lecture, a lovely tea was served, which included fresh strawberries and mini
Battenburg cakes, as well as other delights, and an opportunity chat with other members
and with the speaker. Everyone I spoke to had been inspired by Amy’s talk.
We were also able to admire - at a safe distance - a superb Norwich shawl made by
Clabburn, Sons & Crisp. I was there when it was folded up at the end of the day, and saw the
underside with its floating wefts and beautiful colours which were another inspiration.
For further information about the RSN, their website is well worth exploring
https://royal-needlework.org.uk/
Helen Durrant
CTA Member

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.