|
In 1889 Marion Twelves, took her industry to Keswick to work with Mrs Canon Rawnsley, leaving Mrs Elizabeth Pepper an already skilled spinner, weaver and needlewoman in charge of the industry at Elterwater. This venture would appear to flourish for a number of years, according to an order book now here in the Ruskin Museum, before moving the Industry to Tilberthwaite, just a few miles from Elterwater. An alter cloth was worked and gifted to the local church at that time, this is now in the Ruskin Museum, unfortunately in a rather fragile state, having been miss treated and stored in a starched state. The industry continued for a number of years, then gradually declining during the First World War years. During that time many exhibitions had been attended including the Home Arts exhibitions that were held in the Albert Hall in London, due to this contact Elizabeth Pepper was invited to teach Queen Alexandra to spin at Sandringham in Norfolk. There are many artefacts relating to this era in the museum.. text supplied by Elizabeth Prickett
|
into practice by Albert Fleming, a friend of John Ruskin and a fellow
trustee to the Guild of St. George, a Trust founded to assist craft
workers establish their business, in this instance to set up a Cottage
Industry of spinning and weaving of linen as there had been a previous
history of this occupation in the locality. The first spinning wheel was
to arrive from the Laxey Woollen Industry on the Isle of Man who had
previously been a beneficiary of the Guild of St. George. This duly
arrived at Neaum Crag in the hamlet of Skelwith Bridge at the foot of the
Langdale valley, the home of Albert Fleming. Here Marion Twelves who had
come north from Broxbourne in Hertfordshire as housekeeper to Albert
Fleming took up the challenge to make the spinning wheel work and then
pass her newfound knowledge on to others in the Langdale valley. A local
carpenter reproduced other spinning wheels and premises were acquired by the
Guild of St. George to accommodate the necessary equipment at Elterwater,
another hamlet in the Langdale valley. When the spinners were
proficient
they could take their wheels home and were paid the rate of 2s/6d per pound
of thread. The yarn then needed to be woven. The first length of Linen
came off the loom, Easter 1884. Though this fabric was of interesting texture,
the spinners quickly become more skilled. The result was to produce articles
from the linen with a variety of embroidery applied, one type being what
is now called Ruskin Lace. John Ruskin is said to have brought patterns
of needlemade lace from Italy where he saw examples on church linen: no
evidence as to the form in which these patterns came has
been found. It is felt that if Marion Twelves had had a physical piece of
work to guide her, the work that was given the name ‘Greek Lace’ would
not have been worked as she adapted the technique, working the pattern
directly on to the linen, as the work that John Ruskin saw was most
probably worked as a motif and then applied to the linen. It seems more
probable that Ruskin brought back sketches rather than examples of lace
which could be pulled apart to investigate exactly how they had been made. 