Honiton (East Devon) lace sprigs

These East Devon lace sprigs were designed and probably made by Charlotte Treadwin as part of a commission for Queen Victoria. They form part of a collection of samples of British and Continental lace put together by Treadwin, an important lace manufacturer with a business based in the Cathedral Yard, Exeter. The collection was donated to the museum in the late 1860s for lace-makers and designers to study. Treadwin once stated that there was not a single lace-designer in the whole of Devon, and strove to improve this, employing an artist to draw out her designs, and studying samples to better inform her practice and experimentation with lace-making patterns and techniques. By 1868, the lace manufactory and showrooms were already based at 5 Cathedral Yard (now known as the Cathedral Close).

The business had been granted the royal warrant by Queen Victoria in 1848, before Charlotte’s marriage to John Treadwin. This sprig may be a sample motif made as part of a commission for the Queen in the 1860s.

Object Summary

Accession Loan No.
29/2006/181
Category
Decorative Art
Collection Class
Textiles and equipment
Material
cotton
Common Name
Honiton (East Devon) lace sprigs
Simple Name
lace sprig
Period Classification
Victorian (1837-1901)
Production Town
Exeter
Production County
Devon
Production Country
United Kingdom: England
Production Date
1848
Production Person Initials
Charlotte
Production Person Surname
Treadwin
Production Year High
1868

View Full Details

Honiton (East Devon) lace sprigs with design of stems and leaves