Tales of a collector

Gawthorpe Hall

A field trip to Gawthorpe Hall, Lanashire gave us a glimpse into the world of textile collector Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth or Miss Rachel as she was affectionately known.  With over 30,000 pieces, it is an impressive specialist collection, but more interestingly, it gives us an insight into very ordinary lives.

The Shuttleworth Crest - Prudence and Justice

Miss Rachel recognised the value of craft skills and wanted to teach these to her local community by opening up her collection and offering workshops.  A skilled needle worker, she produced teaching aids to demonstrate techniques and she critiqued the items in her collection with her characteristic green pen and acerbic comments.


Textilia 3 will be working with the curators of the Gawthorpe Textile Collection to create new pieces for an exhibition scheduled for April - June 2019.  We will be looking at the stories behind the pieces and the people who donated them.  The big question is: will we produce the kind of work that would please Miss Rachel?......