Tuesday 21 July 2015

Summer table settings!

I love nothing better than to play with colour and texture when setting a table in the garden. Our summers are so brief and unreliable that it is great to make an effort when the sun does shine!

Recently I have acquired a couple of lovely white cutwork table cloths and runners and have had fun playing with them to add a touch of freshness to a cerise Revived Damask tablecloth.



With the addition of some Wisteria coloured Rainbow Damask napkins I was ready to have a friend round for a cup of coffee in the sunshine. The good china mustn't linger in the cupboard so I mix some of Mum's collection of Royal Crown Derby with a couple of mugs from Zara!



A couple of days later a few friends popped in for a cool drink and some fresh summer berries on their way through London. I had just enough time to throw the cloth back on the table and hey presto, great clashing colours of orange and pink were ready to welcome them.


I heard there was going to be a prosecco shortage, so I am doing my bit to indulge while it is still available! Who needs an excuse to have some bubbles on a sunny Sunday evening?!


A lovely hand embroidered runner and some pretty whitework napkins complete the table. My neighbours must think I am very odd, running around with a camera when waiting for guests to arrive! But it's good to capture the moment and hopefully inspire you to use your linens, not leave them folded in the cupboard.

And if you'd like to buy these very pieces then they can be found on the website. Not the pink cloth tho', I've kept that for me!!






Thursday 16 July 2015

An Inventory of Linen 1852

An amazing find this week. While working my way through auction catalogues, I stumbled on a wonderful leather-bound journal entitled "Inventory of Linen" and inside the handwritten inscription "Hawnes Park, Inventory of House Linen made in 1852 by A. C. Thynne". With Gold leaf tooling to the leather title label and hand marbled paper to the front and back end papers, this has been a beautiful item in its heyday. Now rather battered and dogeared, but the pages inside make for interesting reading.



I am no historian, but I do find the social history associated with this type of document quite fascinating. This journal gives the most interesting snapshot of life in a fine country house from the mid 1800s to 1929. The house later became known as Haynes Park and in 1929 became a girls' boarding school. 

Before that, however, it had been the country estate of the Barons Carteret. On the death of the childless 3rd Baron Carteret in 1849, the Barony became extinct and the estate passed to his nephew, Rev. Lord John Thynne, the Sub Dean of Westminster. (There is a monument to him to be seen in Westminster Abbey).

He had married Anna Constantia Beresford, and as was the custom, the household was run by the lady of the house, so it was she who compiled this record of the household linens up until her death in 1866. I imagine the records were kept updated by the housekeeper after that.

Each double page has columns showing the date, quantity, description, marks or monograms, size and number at a table. Lots of pencil written notes are added and items crossed out, so this document was kept regularly updated. Think of it as an 1800s spreadsheet!

An example from 1861 tells us there were 4 Irish linen cloths carrying the mark J T 1861 each 6 yards in length and 2.5 yards wide, which would be used for a party of 18. They had been purchased from Dickens and Jones at a cost of £6 and 6 shillings each!


Some of the entries in the "marks" column show a drawing of a coronet, denoting that these had belonged to the house when it was owned by the 3rd Baron. There are notes, such as "all worn out 1902" or "2 cut in half 1907". Nothing was wasted and cloths were cut and reused in smaller sizes until totally worn out.

The coronet motif can be seen to the top right. 


The variety of linens is remarkable. One page is devoted to napkins which are described as Fish and Pastry and Thumb napkins! Also waiting napkins, some cut from tablecloths in 1902. And Layovers, a term I had not come across before, but I presume them to be what we call table runners as they vary in length from 4.5 to 6 yards  and some have been cut into sideboard cloths. 

Then we move upstairs to the bedrooms - Sheets Fine, Sheets Coarse, Pillow Covers, Pillow Covers Coarse, Towels and Toilet Covers!


The list of Sheets Fine.

The Coarse sheets are noted as being for men, upper maids, footmen and servants, the Fine sheets of course were reserved for the family of the house and their guests. 

Of 6 fine pairs of 4 yard sheets with a blue coronet and dated 1843, set 6 is noted as being "very much scorched, the parts taken out and repaired with fine cloth, 1853." I do hope the laundry maid didn't get into too much trouble for her carelessness.

The variety of Coarse Cloths for the house and kitchen is fascinating. Obvious things such as glass cloths, dusters etc but also Stable cloths, Cook's cloths, Slop Pail cloths, Hearth cloths, Knife cloths and China cloths, the list goes on! I wonder how on earth they could tell the difference. It is noted that many of these were taken to London in 1888, which I presume to be 67 Eaton Place, the London home of Francis John Thynne, who inherited the estate on the death of his father.



From 1897 onwards the record keeping is much more scant and it appears to stop in 1907. The very last entry is in 1929 with just 2 pages. So life in this beautiful house was about to change and the copious quantities of Irish and Scottish linen fall of our radar. I wonder what became of it all??










Friday 10 July 2015

More tales from the laundry!

Been absent for too long - apologies! There's been lots going on including my giving a talk to an embroidery workshop in Diss in Norfolk last week. A really interesting couple of days with a delightful group of creative ladies.

Whilst there we popped into the local auction house and of course there was a box of linens to be bid on and I was pleased to win the lot and bring it back to London with me!

Well at least I was pleased until I began to unpack the box!! The condition of some of the pieces was pretty bad, lots of pale brown mould and I honestly didn't think I could remove it.





I hadn't seen this type of marking before but lo and behold a good overnight soak and several cloths and a wonderful petticoat flounce were sparkling white again, plus lots of beautiful sets of Madeira stitched coasters. 




One of the worst pieces was a gorgeous cutwork cloth. I was so keen to get working on it that I forgot to take a "Before" pic, but it was covered in the same brown mould as shown above. A friend dropped in that day and insisted on taking a picture of me admiring my handiwork!! I must say I was pleased with the final result!