Royal School of Needlework
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Royal School of Needlework is a London hand embroidery school founded in 1872.
The School is based at Hampton Court Palace and is engaged in textile restoration and conservation, as well as training professional embroiderers through 3-year apprenticeships. It receives commissions from public bodies, for example the Hastings embroidery.
It has an archive of over 30,000 images covering every period of British history. There are also over 5,000 textile pieces, including lace, silkwork, whitework, Jacobean embroidery and many other forms of embroidery and needlework.
The School is a charity and has always been under royal patronage.
[edit] History
The Royal School of Needlework was founded in 1872 by Princess Helena, Queen Victoria's third daughter, and the wife of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. She received help from William Morris and many of his friends in the Arts and Crafts movement.
Its initial space was in a small apartment on Sloane Street, employing 20 ladies. The school had grown to 150 students, moving in 1903 to Exhibition Road, near to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The Royal School moved from Princes Gate in Kensington to Hampton Court Palace in 1987 and now features fine views of the Palace gardens.
