Crafty Chat - Ghosts in the Attic in Spitalfields

The members who 'gathered' virtually on the 17th March had another lovely meeting chatting about recent makes and experiences.  Jenny Fletcher had recently been to visit Dennis Severs' house in Spitalfields, London, and explained the history of the creation of this amazing 'still life drama', and talked about the impact it had on her.  In the 1960s, when eighteenth century houses in Spitalfields were crumbling and derelict, American Dennis Severs bought a house formerly occupied by Huguenot silk merchants, and he and his partner began a thirty year restoration of the house as it might have been during the 18th and 19th centuries.  They collected, begged, borrowed or made everything in the house, living in it themselves as they created scenes from the lives of five generations of the imaginary Jervase family, who were themselves silk weavers.  The result is an extraordinary building - it still has no electrical lighting or appliances in the rooms, no heating other than open fires, and no running water; clocks tick, fires crackle, there are scones baking in the kitchen, the remnants of food on the plates, and a pair of muddy leather boots by the stove.  Severs left messages for his visitors that explain that the occupants of the rooms 'have just stepped out for a minute', and stress that 'the most important thing is what is happening between the surface of your eye and the objects that you see'.  Jenny felt that it was the most vivid experience of an historical atmosphere she had ever had, and was fascinated both by being placed in the role of a 'visitor' in the past, and by the questions the house raises about conservation.  For costume and textile enthusiasts, the house abounds with beautiful fabrics, both clothing and soft furnishings, but be warned - these are used, worn objects hung over doors, squashed into sofas, eaten threadbare by mice - it is not a perfect and pristine museum, but reflects life as it very well might have been lived by a family not always flush with money.

This led to some lively discussion about the preservation of the past and obsession with the new and the perfect - our crafty chatters are often a philosophical lot!

For those interested in visiting Dennis Severs' house, at 18, Folgate St., you can find more information here - the experience came highly recommended.  https://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/
​And for textile enthusiasts, look out for the blue plaque telling you that the famous eighteenth century silk designed Anna Maria Garthwaite lived in the house next door!

​This led to some lively discussion about the preservation of the past and obsession with the new and the perfect - our crafty chatters are often a philosophical lot!

For those interested in visiting Dennis Severs' house, at 18, Folgate St., you can find more information here - the experience came highly recommended.  https://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/
​And for textile enthusiasts, look out for the blue plaque telling you that the famous eighteenth century silk designed Anna Maria Garthwaite lived in the house next door!