Read all about it!

  After having been in the Textile Conservation Studio for many years, both the Spangled bed and James II bed from Knole have now left the Studio to go back home. Read all about it in this press release on our website! https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/news/bed-fit-for-a-king-is-restored-in-norfolk To read more about the Spangled bed, click here. To read more…

Drawing the curtains on the Spangled Bed

After conserving the linings it was time to treat the four satin and cloth of silver/cloth of gold curtains. A similar approach was taken as with the linings, but a lot more work was needed to conserve the appliqué and metal threads as well as the satin. Pre-wash consolidation The original adhesive used (in a…

Fringing galore

Before the Spangled Bed satin curtains could be treated they had to be deconstructed. The first step in deconstruction was removing the metal fringing along the edges. The metal thread fringes which adorn the outer edges of the curtains have been examined and documented during the past few months. There are two types of narrow…

Conservation of bed hangings from the Spangled Bed

Supporting the lingings Following on from the last blog post, where the linings from the Spangled curtains were documented, humidified, wet cleaned and supported onto adhesive crepeline, the next step was to support the linings onto the dyed silk support. The damask linings have undergone extensive support stitching. In total, four conservators have worked over 1100…

Supporting the Spangled Bed

After documentation it was time to start the treatment. The first step was to lay out the linings and satin inside a humidity tent created from a metal frame (a strawberry cage!) with a polythene sheet over to enclose the lining. A humidifier was set up inside to pump a fine water spray into the…

Update on James II Bed 1688 from Knole, Kent

Since the Testers arrival last year we have been busy documenting its condition and previous treatments including the use of adhesive. This is starting to fail, become very hard and brittle with age and discoloured to dark brown from its use in the 1960s. Our first job was to remove this adhesive, not as easy…

A clean house is a happy house

Last week we went to Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk to clean the damask wall hangings in the Cabinet room. In 1751 the room, which was originally a drawing room, was remodelled to accommodate the Italian pictures Willian Windham II had acquired on his Grand Tour. These still hang very much, as he originally planned. During our…

Leander’s journey through tapestry conservation

The tapestry, ‘Leander taking leave of his parents’ (c. 1660-90) has been at the Textile Conservation Studio in Norfolk since March 2015. The tapestry is currently having a stitched conservation treatment, having already undergone full documentation, adhesive removal and wet cleaning. Removal of the 1960’s adhesive patch treatment resulted in the exposure of large areas…

A jolly to Jarrold Printing Museum

Last Thursday the Studio closed for the day so we could all enjoy our Christmas outing. But before we could indulge in a delicious Christmas lunch we visited the the John Jarrold Printing Museum in Norwich, beautifully located next to the river Wensum. The John Jarrold Printing Museum was founded in 1982 by the Jarrold family, who…

Topsy-Turvy Conservation – A Mexican adventure

Last month Senior Conservator Rosamund Weatherall went to Mexico to talk about the conservation treatment of the Spangled Bed from Knole in Kent. The presentation "Topsy-turvy conservation: consolidating and wet cleaning the embellished hangings from the Spangled Bed, Knole" was presented at the North American Textile Conservation Conference in Mexico City. The conference was a…