The Bowes Museum Blog

When I saw the advertisement for a PhD studentship exploring The Blackborne Lace Collection at The Bowes Museum, I was desperate to be involved. At the time, I was finishing my undergraduate course in Conservation of Cultural Heritage, and looking for opportunities to further my experience before doing a master’s degree in Textile Conservation. After contacting the museum and meeting the supervising curator, I became a volunteer for the museum.  

I was given the opportunity to work supporting Brooke Stephens, the PhD student, in the exploration and cataloguing of the Blackborne antique lace collection working towards the November exhibition Lace and Legacy: Fashion Treasures from The Blackborne Collection. Some boxes contained objects and samples that were displayed in the 2007 exhibition Fine & Fashionable: Lace from The Blackborne Collection, and others were donated by the Blackborne’s descendants in 2007 with simply the labels of their locations within the family home. The label ‘Blackborne corridor by stairs’ does not give you much information on the lace inside but meant that the contents were an exciting mystery. 

Working each day opening boxes that had not been opened in over 20 years was very exciting. Every box held something new. Some boxes even held textiles from monarchs including King George IV’s undershirt with an embroidered monogram and samples of lace once belonging to Empress Eugénie. These were purchased by the Blackborne family in the auctions after their deaths.

One box also held photographs, flyers, letters and newspaper cuttings documenting the loaning of antique lace to actresses to be worn by characters in films and television series during the 1950’s. Others contained what seemed like hundreds of lace fans. 

We spent months unpacking the contents of these boxes, identifying the lace samples and pieces inside and documenting the contents. 

This started with first determining whether the lace was handmade or machine made. Some lace is made with a machine net ground, with handmade decoration stitched to the surface. The handmade lace was then narrowed down into bobbin lace, needle lace, crochet lace, filet, or shuttle knotted tatted lace. The provenance then had to be determined, looking for motifs and styles such as Maltese crosses or Irish shamrocks. We could then understand the lace further and begin categorising them and further researching the pieces.

My Favourite Parts of Volunteering 

As a conservator, one of my favourite aspects of exploring the collection was finding items which the Blackborne family had collected knowing that they would become historical garments in the future. This foresight showed the family’s passion for preserving history and their desire to contribute to that in the future. 

Some of these items included lace trimmed corset covers, bobbin lace trimmed split bloomers and decorative nightgowns. These items all showed wear through stains and repairs indicating that they may have even been collected from the people around the Blackborne family. Additionally, historical undergarments and nightwear are not found in abundance due to the mundane nature of such garments and the fact that people would reuse textiles until they were simply domestic rags. This showed the intention of preservation behind the collection and labelling of the garments. 

Volunteering with the Blackborne lace collection also allowed me to do interventive conservation work, surface cleaning lace and textiles and packaging them for better storage within the boxes. Though the Blackborne family had knowledge and skills in textile preservation, times change and the guidelines and science develop, meaning through even simple actions, I felt as though I am having some effect on preserving the collection which is very rewarding. 

Volunteering also gave me the opportunity to network, meeting textile conservators, and researchers from the Nottingham Trent University lace archive. This helped me build connections within the sector and develop a further understanding of museum practices. 

Brooke’s Perspective 

The Blackborne collection is comprised of around 7000 items of lace dating from the sixteenth to the early twentieth centuries, with majority of the items having never been catalogued. The sheer quantity of the collection would have made cataloguing and researching the collection a daunting task for anyone. Working with Holly on the collection has allowed us to sort through nearly all of the uncatalogued collection over the span of several months instead of the few years it would have taken me to accomplish on my own. Sharing the task of cataloguing with Holly has meant I am able to begin my research into specific pieces within the collection far sooner than expected, which is very exciting. Holly has also been a major asset due to her background in conservation, an area I have no training in. Sorting through five-hundred-year-old lace that hasn’t left its box in at least twenty years is a much more manageable task when working with a conservator.

Connecting with the Skills of the Collection 

Brooke and I also had the opportunity to learn the craft of lacemaking from the experienced teachers of Northumbria Lacemakers to support our work at The Bowes Museum.

Learning the movements and stitches used to create the bobbin lace samples we were studying gave us further knowledge for the identification of the Blackborne antique lace, and a new appreciation for the creators behind the incredible textiles. This also allowed us to spread the word of the exhibition amongst local and national lacemakers with the exhibition being mentioned in the lace newsletters and online conferences.