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Royal School of Needlework

Coordinates: 51°24′11″N 0°20′17″W / 51.403°N 0.338°W / 51.403; -0.338
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Royal School of Needlework
Established1872 (1872)
Academic affiliation
UCA
Chief ExecutiveRhian Harris
Location
Hampton Court Palace
Richmond upon Thames, London
PatronQueen Camilla
Websitewww.royal-needlework.org.uk

The Royal School of Needlework (RSN) is a hand embroidery school in the United Kingdom, founded in 1872 and based at Hampton Court Palace since 1987.

History

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The RSN began as the School of Art Needlework in 1872, founded by Lady Victoria Welby. The first president was Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, Queen Victoria's third daughter, known to the RSN as Princess Helena.[1] She received help from William Morris and many of his friends in the Arts and Crafts movement.

Their new building on Exhibition Road was opened in 1875 by Princess Helena

Its initial premises was a small apartment on Sloane Street,[1] employing 20 women. She employed Anastasia Marie Dolby as the superintendent and instructor but she died in the following year.[2] Nellie Whichelo was the head designer from the late 1880s.[3] The School received its royal prefix in March 1875 when Queen Victoria consented to become its first patron. It was also an inspiration to Dora Wemyss, who founded the Wemyss School of Needlework in Scotland in 1877 in its image.[4] The school grew to 150 students and moved in 1903 to Exhibition Road, near the Victoria and Albert Museum. The purpose-built building was designed by a group of architects, including prominent British Arts and Crafts architect James Leonard Williams (d.1926).[5] The word "Art" was dropped from the school's title in 1922.[5]

The RSN established a Studio which works new bespoke embroidery commissions and replicas of antique textiles as well as restoration and conservation projects. The work of the Studio has been used in many important events, including a joint effort with Toye in producing the velvet cushions on which the Royal Crowns were carried into Westminster Abbey for the Coronation of King George VI.[6]

In 1953, the school created the gold embroidery on the Purple Robe of Estate, part of the coronation robes of Queen Elizabeth II.[5]

The school moved from Princes Gate in Kensington to Hampton Court Palace in 1987, occupying rooms in Christopher Wren's construction.[7]

In 2011, the school was responsible for hand appliquéing machine-made floral lace motifs onto silk net (tulle) for the wedding dress of Kate Middleton, now Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales.[8][9]

In 2022, the school celebrated its 150-year anniversary with the 150 Years of the Royal School of Needlework: Crown to Catwalk exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum of London.[10]

The RSN embroidered 9 pieces for the 2023 Coronation, including the King's Robe of State and the Queen's Robe of Estate. [11]

Alumni include

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Publications

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To make arts and crafts more accessible to a wider audience, in 1880 the school published the Handbook of Embroidery. It was written by Letitia Higgin and edited by the school's vice-President. It included commissioned illustrations by Gertrude Jekyll, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and Walter Crane.[13] Over a century later, in 2011, the school reprinted the work with a preface essay by Lynn Hulse.[14]

William George Paulson Townsend, who taught drawing and became master of design at the school, also published several works including Embroidery, or, The craft of the needle and Plant and floral studies for designers, art students, and craftsmen, the latter of which was reprinted in 2005.[15][16][17]

Collections

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The RSN has an archive of over 30,000 embroidery-related images covering every period of British history. There are also over 5,000 textile pieces in its Collection.[10]

For its 150th anniversary in 2021, the Royal School of Needlework opened the RSN Stitch Bank, a digital archive with detailed information about selected stitches, their history and usage.[18]

Governance

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The Royal School of Needlework is a registered charity[19] and has always been under royal patronage. The current patron is the Queen.[20][21] The previous patron was Queen Elizabeth II.[22] The school is governed by a board of trustees currently chaired by Pip Wood. Rhian Harris is chief executive.[23] Standards are overseen by QAA who, in 2014, commended the quality of student learning opportunities at the school.[24]

Allegations of bullying

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A former student made accusations that management at the Royal School of Needlework had failed to properly investigate allegations of bullying made by her and another student against a tutor on the Future Tutor Programme. According to a newspaper article, a prior complaint against the tutor had previously been reprimanded. The tutor was later allowed to teach the same student who had made the complaint against him, she alleges that the pattern of bullying behaviour was repeated.[25] Dr Kay-Williams, then Chief Executive of The Royal School of Needlework, denied failing to investigate, said that it "is the role of the tutor to develop and challenge the students", and stated that the consensus of the staff who had worked with the student was that she "lacked the required focus and commitment for the course".[25]

Current facilities

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The RSN runs leisure classes from one to five days starting with classes for beginners and leading on to more complex and varied techniques as embroiderers become more experienced. There is a certificate and diploma in technical hand embroidery for those who want to develop practical embroidery skills to a high level; also a unique degree in hand embroidery which encompasses some technical training, with the emphasis on contemporary practice, alongside academic studies. The degree course in hand embroidery is accredited by the University for the Creative Arts.[26] In 2012 the RSN introduced a new three-year Tutors’ Course which combines high-level technical embroidery training with teaching practice and business skills required to work as a freelance embroiderer/tutor.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Sheppard, F.H.W., ed. (1975). "Royal School of Needlework". South Kensington Museums Area. Vol. 38. London. pp. 231–232. Retrieved 17 August 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ Hulse, Lynn (11 July 2024), "Dolby [née Dolan], Anastasia Marie (1823/4–1873), embroiderer and designer", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000382471, ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8, retrieved 30 July 2024
  3. ^ Hulse, Lynn (11 July 2024), "Whichelo, Mary Eleanor [Nellie] (1862–1959), head designer of the Royal School of Art Needlework", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000382475, ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8, retrieved 30 July 2024
  4. ^ "Wemyss School of Needlework: stitching since 1877". Avocado Sweet. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "History". Royal School of Needlework. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  6. ^ "Toye History". Toye, Kenning and Spencer. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  7. ^ Kennedy, Maev (12 February 2015). "Hampton Court's lost apartment foundations uncovered". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Royal wedding: Dress embroiderers were kept in the dark". BBC News. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  9. ^ "The Royal School of Needlework's hand embroidery expertise helps Sarah Burton create Miss Catherine Middleton's wedding dress" (PDF). Royal School of Needlework. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  10. ^ a b McFarland, Sarah (Spring 2022). "Celebrating Every Stitch". Threads. No. 217. p. 62.
  11. ^ "Coronation of Charles III". Royal School of Needlework. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  12. ^ Willem. "Dean, Beryl (1911-2001)". trc-leiden.nl. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  13. ^ Higgin, Letitia (2010). Handbook of Embroidery (1880). Royal School of Needlework. ISBN 978-0-9566455-0-0.
  14. ^ Greensted, Mary (September 2011). "Handbook of Embroidery". The Antiquaries Journal. 91. The Society of Antiquaries of London: 394–395. doi:10.1017/S0003581511000576. S2CID 163312802.
  15. ^ Berry, Chris (27 March 2013). "100 years of the Guild" (PDF). Embroiderers' Guild. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.
  16. ^ Townsend, William George Paulson; Pesel, Louisa F. (1899). Embroidery, or, The craft of the needle (1 ed.). London: Truslove & Hanson."Embroidery; or, The craft of the needle". Hathi Trust. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  17. ^ Townsend, William George Paulson (1901). n. London, New York: Truslove, Hanson & Comba.(Reprinted 2005 by Dover Art Instruction and again in 2012 ISBN 9780486148670)
  18. ^ "Welcome to the RSN Stitch Bank". Royal School of Needlework. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Royal School of Needlework, registered charity no. 312774". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  20. ^ "The Queen Continues Patronage of the RSN". 16 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Royal Visit to RSN". Royal School of Needlework. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  22. ^ "RSN Annual Report & Accounts 2014-2015" (PDF). The Royal School of Needlework. 31 August 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  23. ^ "About us". Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  24. ^ "Higher Education Review (Plus) of The Royal School of Needlework" (PDF). QAA. June 2014.
  25. ^ a b Sawer, Patrick (23 April 2022). "Needlework school behind Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress accused of not taking bullying seriously". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  26. ^ "RSN at hampton Court Palace". University for the Creative Arts. Archived from the original on 20 September 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  27. ^ "Future Tutors". www.royal-needlework.org.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
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