NOTTINGHAM LACE

@NEWSTEAD ABBEY






On our first visit to Newstead Judith gave us a tour behind the scenes of the Lace archive she was preparing for the lace places exhibition.
It was really interesting to find out about the history of Nottingham lace and how it put Nottingham on the map. Lace machines adapted from stocking making machines  in Calverton the most famous being the levers lace machine invented by John levers. I was interested in the heritage of the levers name as it similar to my own so am curious if there is a connection.

The global reach of Nottingham lace
Nottingham had the Monopoly on machine made lace as Nottingham was the only city who had the knowledge to make the machines. Much of Nottingham heritage is built upon the Lace industry. The city expanded as people came from the surrounding rural villages to work in the Lace Market.


The global reach and desire for lace really put Nottingham on the map and was imported around the world.


As the demand for lace grew so did the demand to make it, lace machines were smuggled in piece to Calais in France by Richard parks Bonington. The lace industry in France is directly linked to Nottingham. John levers inventor of leavers lace even changed the spelling of his name to be better understood in french.
Lace machines and workers were imported to Australia and a lace industry began there.
There was also a big lace industry in Scotland,. its this integration of cultures that directly influenced the diversity of lace design.
Lace, as well as being a decorative fabric was used as a means of story telling, intricate designs and symbols. It also told a lot about the wealth and means of the wearing via the quality and design.
As the machines became more available the demand for Nottingham lace declined
Cluney lace in Ilkeston is the only remaining lace makers in Nottingham using the traditional machines.




French lace workers with machines imported from Nottingham




Lace Workers.
Women and their young children were often employed in lace making. This could be very dangerous work especially for the children as young as 2 years old who would be runners and gather the threads in the machines. Despite the obvious danger this was given as a child's task due to their size, There would be many injuries, loss of fingers and even death. The pay and conditions would not be good.
This was the industrial, Victorian England, the birth of our modern, industrious world.







Details from some of the lace samples in the archive



Carved wooden block , lace design as a relief print to use as a guide for hand embellishment.
This was particularly of interest to me as its similar to the process of lino or wood block printing and a potential lead to follow to create initial investigation and works for this project.





lace samples/ details from the archive.



Judith talking us through some of the lace clothes in the collection.
I like the mystry and the look of all the clothes packed up with the labels.









The samples are stored in protective paper and handled with gloves, care must be taken to preserve the condition of the samples.



Jaquard Lace punch card




Embroidery and lace samples



Stockings with lace detail.
The lace machines were developed from stocking machines in Calverton- Nottingham by



hand stitched sampler



Cotton making process samples from raw cotton to yarn to cotton to fabric.



Decorative patterns from the house interior that remind me of lace pattern






Botanical watercolours as inspiration for lace designs
(flowers that feature in Newstead's Japanese gardens)





Copies of Victorian blue prints of the Abbey



Old lace collar and cuffs we were allowed to handle and make graphite rubbings...



..Original sample with a graphite rubbing I took on Japanese calligraphy paper and the addition of quick colour with alcohol markers



Botanical and structural inspiration from Newstead gardens



Hand written notes from our visit











Hand written notes from our visit