Come and see us on  

7^th and 8^th December

10.30 am – 3. 30pm 

At the  

'Victorian Christmas' in the Hall  

See the Hall decked out for Christmas 

We will have lots of items made by the members 

plus a quilt raffle

Our Mementos  -  25th September

Our 'show and tell' day was very interesting with a quite wide range of items brought for the occasion 

an old sewing box from Penny's grandmother, 

a small box of Sheila's family treasures from WWI including the tin of unused tobacco given to the troops by Princess Mary

Frances brought her favourite plaything as a child - her whip and top.  The top had a design chalked ready for a game.   She hadn't forgotten how to play!

We saw a number of other items including a first prescription engraved on slate, an embroidery by a talented local embroiderer and teacher -  Isabel  Walton, a soap dish bought in Brighton that started a small collection, a box of Treasures, a millennium lace project and heard about the latest information the Textiles Collection had discovered about a Honton lace fascinator in the collection.   

We all had an enjoyable afternoon finishing with tea and biscuits.

Summer Walk in the Grounds  31st July

Our summer walk with National Trust Rangers Nik Taylor and Christine Greenwood was a hit with all the  members who participated.  We were a little wary of the weather but it stayed fine until the walk was completed before the rain came.   

A lovely display in the 
garden at the front of the Hall











One place that always interests us is the walled garden.   It is gradually being brought back into use by the hardworking volunteers who do a wonderful job.  

Some of the volunteers busy at work                   

This year the volunteers have started building a family play area with the fallen trees in the grounds.

 

Some children have already started building a den

Thank you, Nik and Christine for taking us to see all the new projects that are happening in the grounds  we all had  an enjoyable time and were very lucky with the weather.   

The Design and Work for the Altar Cloth at Giggleswick Chapel, 

talk by Sally Figgins

Members had a most enjoyable day with Sally, she introduced herself by telling members she was a Shuttleworth, born at Gawthorpe Hall.   We heard about Giggleswick School Chapel and her family connection.  The chapel was gifted to the school by Walter Morrison and was opened in 1901.  It is a gothic design with a copper dome that looks out over the countryside.  Sally’s design for the altar cloth was inspired by the frescos inside the chapel.  To get the correct colours Sally dyed the threads – she contacted member Betty Garvey for advice about how to do the dying.  She wished to get the same colours as the paintings around the chapel.  One of her main concerns was getting all the design elements to scale because the cloth was so large.   A number of people helped with the project including Fine Cell Work. 

Visitors are welcome to visit the Chapel, by prior arrangement with the school, from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.  It would be lovely to visit after hearing the story of the chapel and how the altar cloth was made; Sally said she would be happy to show us around.

A selection of food for lunch

Wednesday 1^st May

Wessex Stitchery Workshop

Nine stitchers enjoyed a very interesting day with Gail Marsh looking at the samples of Wessex Stitchery from the Textiles Collection at Gawthorpe Hall.  Some of the samples were enclosed in Melinex so could be handled with care, the others in a large fabric sample book had to be looked at with care and white cotton gloves worn to carefully turn the pages. 

 A page in Mrs Margaret Fosters sample book.  

After an introduction by Gail about Mrs Margaret Foster, the embroiderer who created the Wessex Stitch. Mrs Foster’s work was not discovered until she was 90 when she had a large exhibition of her work at The Medici Galleries, London, in 1934.  There were reviews in the Times newspaper and Embroidery magazine

Two samples from Mrs Foster

Morning was spent looking at the samplers (worked over a period of thirty years by Mrs Foster) then putting pencil to paper and plotting a design onto graph paper. 

Examining the samples

deep in concentration

Gail had made some samples in a larger scale, making it easier for students to see the designs more easily. 

 Some of the beautiful Wessex work prepared by Gail

Once some their designs had been carefully drawn the students started sewing their samples after lunch.  I hope we get to see some of the final results of the course at some time in the future.  

Students design work in progress

Tuesday 9th April

“A Victorian Wedding Revisited”, talk by Rachel Midgley,  Curator and Jane Hellebrand, Assistant Curator.

The Friends had an informative and interesting talk about the wedding dress of  bride: Sarah Ann Fletcher (1820-1904), daughter of Richard Fletcher, butcher of Bury and groom: James William Kenyon (1819-1910), linen draper in Bury.  His father was an Innkeeper.

Sarah and James married at Bury Parish Church on 27th March 1844; they were married for almost sixty years and had four daughters.  

Last year the Textiles Collection put the wedding items on display in Bury Parish Church 

Rachel telling everyone about the wedding dress and the waistcoat worn by the groom.

James wore his wedding waistcoat again on his 80th birthday.  We only know about this as his obituary, in the Bury Guardian, mentions him wearing the waistcoat to dance the Lancers with his wife - a pretty energetic dance for an 80 year old and his 79 year old wife.

The waistcoat can be seen behind with the brides hat on a stand.  

The items being examined.  

The dress and its cape in the background - a chocolate coloured fabric with toning braids.  

They look very well made items.  

Their great great grandson, Mike, came to hear the talk about his ancestors.  

3rd April

“Zenspirations and Beyond” Workshop  with Gail Marsh

Above is one of Gail's designs for the workshop.

Everyone had a really lovely day and enjoyed the course.

Below is the work of one of the group  - someone who always says 'I can't draw'  

'I think you can!'

25th February 2019

What a difference a year makes!

Last year 'the beast from the east' (2018) 

All the staff are busy getting the Hall ready for opening on Wednesday 27th March.  Lots of cleaning and polishing and new exhibitions being assembled.