Flutterby Patch

Remembering Lacemakers

On 25th November we remember St Catherine of Alexandria who was martyred for her Christian beliefs in 310 AD. She is the Patron Saint of spinners, weavers and lacemakers.

Since Tudor times English lacemakers have laid aside their bobbins for a while and celebrated St Catherine's Day with Cattern cakes. It is a simple recipe and I recently made a batch to share with you. I enjoyed one with a cup of coffee and have written the recipe at the end of this post.

No one is sure when people started making lace in England. It is thought that Henry VIII's first wife Queen Catherine of Aragon (above), while awaiting her divorce from the king in 1533, taught lacemaking to some of the ladies living in Ampthill in Bedfordshire. At the time she was living in Ampthill Castle and a lace pattern named after her is still being used in that area today. The story goes that she felt such sympathy for the impoverished lacemakers that she burnt all her own fine lace so that more could be ordered from the local women thus providing them with a much needed income.

My great grandmother and her sisters were lacemakers in Buckinghamshire in Victorian times. The lace they produced was very intricate and it would have taken hours to complete a short length.

My granny kept a box in her dresser drawer which contained her mother's lace bobbins and when I was little I was sometimes allowed to look at them. I'm sorry to say this box was lost over the years and the bobbins in the picture sadly aren't my granny's. I bought these at a sale in Bedfordshire five years ago and promised myself that I would learn the craft but I'm afraid I haven't yet got round to it. These bobbins once belonged to an elderly lady and are all attached to her unfinished work. I don't like to remove them.

Children in the main lacemaking counties of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire were taught lacemaking at a very young age. Lace schools were set up specifically to teach them the craft and from this photograph you can see how young some of them were. Finding employment in these agricultural counties wasn't easy and lacemaking provided a small amount of much needed income. Every female in the family would be expected make lace. They would work from dawn until dusk weaving the fine threads often by the light of a single candle. In the late 1700s William Cowper became a great friend to the lacemakers in his town of Olney in Buckinghamshire and he fought for their welfare. I visited his home (now a small museum) a few years ago and found it fascinating. You will find a link to it in my sidebar.

There are many lace pattern books available. The one on the left by Pamela Nottingham is very popular and gives you lots of patterns and tips for making a variety of lace styles. It wasn't until I bought my bobbins that I discovered what fascinating little works of art they are and how much can be learnt from them. The book on the right by Christine and David Springett is a must for all antique bobbin collectors as it not only illustrates hundreds of different bobbins but also gives information about the men who made them.

Antique bobbins are made from either bone (not ivory) or wood. The bone ones were often beautifully decorated and would have cost more than the wooden ones which were plainer. No two bobbins are ever identical. Here are some Victorian from my own collection.
1). The one at the top is well used and the name on it is quite rubbed. It reads John Bunyan. He lived in the heart of lacemaking country (Bedford) whilst writing 'Pilgrim's Progress' and many lacemakers owned a Bunyan bobbin. 
2). The second bobbin has a more ornate shape and is wrapped with fine brass wire.
3). I love this third example. It has been engraved with the wishes of its owner and reads 'Elizabeth Pickering would love to live happy with Robert Pain'. Many lacemakers had the names of their sweethearts and family members engraved on their bobbins. I wonder Elizabeth and Robert ever married.
4). The plainer wooden bobbin at the bottom has three pewter 'jingles' on it.

The book on the left by T L Huetson contains a history of lacemaking as well as lots of interesting facts about bobbins. The small paperback on the right by C and D Springett includes fascinating information about the vintage glass beads (called spangles) that are found on old bobbins. 

This is a fabulous book about British festivals and celebrations with accompanying recipes and old customs. It was written by Julia Jones and Barbara Deer in 1987 but is still readily available from second-hand booksellers on line.

On page 8 is the entry for St Catherine's Day. Each page is illustrated in a scrap book style.

Here as promised is the recipe for lacemakers' Cattern cakes.

9 oz/275 g self-raising flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 oz/25 g currants
2 oz/50 g ground almonds
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
7 oz/200 g caster sugar
4 oz/100 g melted butter
1 medium egg, beaten
A little extra cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling

Oven temperature 
200 degrees C.
400 degrees F.
Gas 6

Sift flour and cinnamon into a bowl. Stir in currants, almonds, caraway seeds and sugar. Add the melted butter and beaten egg. Mix to a soft dough. On a floured board roll out to a rectangle 12 ins x 10 ins (30 cm x 25 cm). Brush the dough with water and sprinkle with a little extra sugar and cinnamon. Roll up like a Swiss roll and cut into 2 cm (3/4 ins) slices. Place (spaced well apart) on a greased tray and bake for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack then enjoy! (Makes approx 12).

Plain sailing on a fine day, outdoors and in.

There's nothing better than a day of sunshine to lift spirits and put a spring in your step. You will be pleased to hear that it put me in just the right mood to place my bits and pieces of freshly washed china and glass back into the cupboards that have remained empty for so long whilst we made alterations to the study.

First to go back was the glass ship that I showed you last week. With its sparkling clean dome I positioned it centre stage and alongside placed its companion, a little Victorian boy wearing a sailor suit and sitting on a large cockle shell.

On another shelf a hand painted Victorian cup and saucer, my granny's cut glass biscuit barrel and a 1920's child's mug that I found discarded on a bonfire. What sort of silly person disposes of china on a bonfire I wonder?

This little boy in his pony cart was one of my mother's favourites. It came to me when she passed away in 2006 and I will always treasure it.

Also a favourite, his little sister who has her own pony cart and sits alongside her brother. Both children will live safely in the cupboard until Christmas when they will come out and trot along the mantle, their little carts loaded with greenery for the festive season. My mother did this for many years and I like to carry on the tradition.

When I'd at last finished refilling my shelves with china I had time to make a swift visit to Holehird, a nearby Lakeland garden that I have taken you to before. What fun it would have been to travel there in a little horse drawn carriage on such a fine November day. Imagine pulling up in style outside this big country house that forms part of the estate.

The house enjoys magnificent views over the gardens and surrounding countryside.  

Sadly I didn't have time to explore the wonderful walled garden

and I stopped only briefly to admire the way the autumn sunshine filtered through the ornamental grasses

and then I reached the area I had come to visit....the holly garden. I love holly and would like to plant more in our garden but there are so many varieties to choose from these days that I decided the best idea would be to make a note of the types the experts had planted at Holehird (I will use any excuse to visit this garden!) With their variegated leaves in all shades of green and gold and berries of red, black and vibrant yellow I made hasty notes of the hollies I liked best and (returning to my make-believe pony cart) made the journey home.

On the return journey I noticed a few people were on the lake in their sailing craft enjoying the fine weather but concluded a pony and cart would remain my choice of transport!

In this area I'm surrounded by wonderfully large expanses of water but I'm afraid I wouldn't make a good sailor. The nearest I have come to steering my own craft was as a child when playing a similar game to this pair on the stairs in Robert Louis Stevenson's poem 'A Good Play'.

 
We built a ship upon the stairs
All made of the back-bedroom chairs,
And filled it full of soft pillows
To go a-sailing on the billows.

We took a saw and several nails,
And water in the nursery pails;
And Tom said, "Let us also take
An apple and a slice of cake;"--
Which was enough for Tom and me
To go a-sailing on, till tea.

We sailed along for days and days,
And had the very best of plays;
But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,
So there was no one left but me.

.....I had great fun playing 'make believe' games with chairs and pillows when I was young.... Happy days!....Do today's children still play these sorts of games I wonder?

Have a good weekend.

Amazing trees, Levens Hall and a little black dog.

The autumn tints in the garden are wonderful when the sun is shining but leaves are flying everywhere today as cold north-westerlies tell us to put on our coats and scarves. 

Our house sits on a hill so parts of the garden are on a slope which can make lawn mowing quite challenging at times.

Say "hello" to our friendly old Scots pine tree. Just look at his facial expression! A wise old thing, he has watched over this spot for over 250 years and seen the world change a great deal during his lifetime.

A family of squirrels plus numerous birds and insects live amongst his gnarled branches.

He is very generous with his pine cones which look very festive at Christmas time. 

By far the tallest tree in our garden the old Scots pine is at the mercy of strong winds and last year lost several huge limbs which crashed to the ground during a storm. See how damaged and bald he now is down the left-hand side but he carries on growing unperturbed.

A shapely young yew

Close to the old pine gentleman is this young yew tree. It has grown from a berry that was deposited by a bird some 15 years ago. My husband wanted to transplant it to a more suitable position but I had other plans... Topiary! Once it had reached 5 ft high I began shaping it with secateurs. Unfortunately I'm not sure what shape I'm aiming at. It has the appearance of a figure with a head, so the pieces that have sprouted from the top this year might become a convincing hat next year. I haven't yet made up my mind.

Before I resume clipping I will look for inspiration in this excellent topiary book by David Joyce

 
Now this is what I call real topiary. Aren't those shapes amazing? These yew trees have been cut to shape for the past 300 years and are part of a world famous topiary garden close to where I live.

Levens Hall

  
The topiary garden belongs to Levens Hall in Cumbria. The house dates from the year 1250 and has been lived in by the same family for many centuries. If you have seen the BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's 'Wives and Daughters' then you will be well acquainted with Levens Hall as its intereior and topiary garden were used for the many scenes shot at 'Hamley Hall'. 

When I first saw the film I was amazed just how much of the house and its original antique faurniture was used. The Hall is awash with mellow oak panelling and carving. Shown above is the Elizabethan Great Hall and staircase.

Above the fireplace can be seen the coat of arms of
Queen Elizabeth I

How I should love to have a meal in this dining room. The walnut dining chairs date from the time of Charles II (1660 - 1685) and are considered to be among the finest in the country. This dining room was used several times in the making of the film and I'm convinced these were the very same chairs that the characters sat on. I hope they were well insured!

This bay window is part of the drawing room. In 'Wives and Daughters' you see it first when Molly visits Mrs Hamley who is resting on her day-bed.

This is known as the Redman Bedroom and was used as Mrs Hamley's room in the film.

  
A visitor to Levens Hall will enter through the central door directly into the Great Hall. It is open to the public from April to October every year and, if you hadn't already guessed, it is one of my favourite places to visit. None of the rooms are overpoweringly large and all show evidence that a family is in permanent residence. Clocks tick and strike the hour and sweet smelling flowers picked from the garden sit on beautiful antique furniture. I love it!

This painting of the Hall and topiary garden was done over 100 years ago in 1870. On the extreme left you can see a wonderful cedar of Lebanon tree.

In 2005, 135 years after the painting was finished, disaster struck when this lovely old Cedar of Lebanon was blown over in a gale. It crashed down in the direction of the ancient topiary garden but thankfully narrowly missed most of the famous yew trees (this picture appeared in our local newspaper at the time). Clearing the garden of debris, repairing structural damage and replanting lost plants took many months.

Of course Levens Hall garden has a lot more to offer the visitor than just topiary. Head gardener, Chris Crowder, has produced a very colourful book that will guide you round. He was once resident gardener on the children's TV programme 'Blue Peter' but moved to Levens Hall in 1986.

When I passed Levens Hall last week the sign on the gate read 'Closed for the season' so I stood beside these giant gateposts and photographed the ancient Hall from a distance (below). How different it looks now that the public has left and the grounds are empty. All was silent except for the wind in the trees and it all felt a bit spooky and mysterious. I decided I wouldn't want to be there on my own at night.

When I got home I discovered from the guide book that Levens Hall does have a number of ghosts so I definitely won't be returning at night. I read about the Grey Lady; a gypsy who was refused admission to the house and who as a result died of starvation. Her ghost is seen on the drive and on the bridge over the river. A Pink Lady wearing a mob cap is seen from time to time in the main hall and finally a Little Black Dog. Apparently he frquently runs upstairs in front of unwary guests who, as a result, hunt in vain for him in their bedrooms. You can find out more about Levens Hall from their splendid website.

Knitting ghosts!

I like the idea of a little black dog running by, he sounds very appealing. As today is Halloween I have for you a little black dog knitting pattern. He doesn't look very ghost-like I'm afraid, but he is definitely in a hurry!

His companion 'the little white dog' is also a cute little fellow.

This chart can be used for knitting or cross stitch embroidery.