Lace Making
From Lacey Green History
Hallmark May 2021. Lacemakers on Countryfile by Rosemary Mortham
Last autumn, I made a video about lace making for the Woodlanders Project. This was picked up by the BBC, who asked if I could do a piece for Countryfile. | was helped by Alex Adkins from Walters Ash. Originally I had planned to ask my neighbour Jill Baker; but sadly, she has since died, so this is a bit of a tribute to her. She was a great craftswoman.
The researcher was a very enthusiastic young woman. She came to see me before the filming. | found that this was her very first story, and she was so pleased when it was accepted. We worked together on what should be included. She was particularly keen that we should teach the presenter to make lace. | must admit, | was rather sceptical about this, but | think it went well.
Due to Coronavirus restrictions, filming was outside, in a local cottage garden. Fortunately, it did not rain, but it did get very cold towards the end of the day. Filming took 3 hours, for a 6 minute slot. It will be interesting to see what is cut out! The BBC team were really nice, especially Sean - the presenter.
We felt quite at ease; and surprisingly, we enjoyed the afternoon. Our piece will be shown on Sunday 18th April at 6.00.p.m. | hope Hallmark readers will enjoy it. It should certainly put Lacey Green on the map.
Hallmark November 2021. Lace Taster Day by Rosemary Mortham
This was held on Saturday 11th September in Lacey Green Village Hall.
It was a follow up to the item on Bobbin Lace Making which appeared on BBC Countryfile in the Spring.
Around 30 people interested in making lace attended, including 7 children. There were talks, demonstrations, an exhibition and sales stalls with a lot of lace making equipment.
Quite a number of people were keen to continue, but there are no local classes for them to attend that we know of.
It is therefore intended to set up several informal group meetings in people’s homes to help them to learn more.
The event was part of a local initiative - The Woodlanders Project. It was resounding success, and there are plans to repeat it at a different venue.
To me it was very satisfying to find that there are still people, and especially children, who would like to take up this local craft, which | had feared would soon die out.
This report is researched and written by Rosemary Mortham........................................... Introduction. In the 19th century lace making was an important source of income for ladies living in the local villages.
The1851 census shows that of a female population in Lacey Green of 104 over 7 year olds, 80 were engaged in making lace. By the 1881 census that number had increased to 136, and 39 in Loosley Row. Lace making probably came to our part of England with protestant refugees fleeing religious persecution in the north of France, Belgium and Holland
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For modern day workers like myself, lace making is a fascination craft. We enjoy the challenge of conquering another form of handwork. However, for the Victorian workers it was far from enjoyable. It filled every spare moment of their waking life but after the invention of lace making machines, no matter how hard they worked, they could no longer make a living.
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The first lace making machine was invented in the 1770s, and mechanisation had become well established in Nottingham by 1830. It is the history of lace making after this date and especially towards the end of the 19th Century, which has particularly interested me.
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It is almost certain that lace was made in our villages in the 18th Century and perhaps even in the the 17th Century but I have not found any records of this. In the early days it would have been a much better paid occupation. Then all lace was handmade. To encourage the local workers imported lace was highly taxed, which led to a flourishing trade to smuggling.
Earnings
As always the poor were at the bottom of the heap. They were dependant on others to provide them with the orders and supplies, and these people also took a cut of the profit. Suppliers might work through local shops or be itinerant peddlers, coming back after a set time to collect the work. When bobbin lace making was seriously in decline a local wealthy lady might arrange orders for the villagers.
Suppliers would provide suitable threads and patterns known as "prickings". Workers would probably learn to make a few patterns, so that they could work faster.. In 1830, High Wycombe and Princes Risborough had lace dealers who sold thread and bought finished lace. They also carried a range of gods, to exchange for lace.
In our area, the local type of lace was the very fine and beautiful Buckinghamshire lace. This an usually be identified by the diagonal net, known as Bucks Point Ground. Lengths of lace would usually be straight on one side "the foot" for attachment to clothing etc., and shaped on the other, more decorative side, "the head"
Bucks lace was slow to make and in the late 1800s many workers changed to Bedfordshire lace which is more open and faster to make. When this still did not prove profitable they made a coarse type of lace called torchon (dishcloth in French). When they finally gave up lace making many local ladies took up tambour bead work, which was more fashionable in the early 1900s, being used on formal clothing like debutantes gowns. The centre of this work was Downley.
The County Museum Reserve - Collection of Lace Samples
Those from Lacey Green area show a great variety of patterns, which is surprising for such a small area.
Some samples are o fa type of black lace popular in the mid 17th century. Obviously the villagers were still able to make it in 1880 Some of the Bucks Point laces are also using patterns popular a century before. The lace made by Mrs Harford and Miss Jenkns are truly old in style. However there are no examples of lace more that one and a half inches wide. Narrower edgings appear to have been introduced about 1840.
There are a few examples of Bedfordshire type lace, which would have been quicker to make. These include a common design known as "Town Trot"
Coloured torchon lace is included in the collection, and this appears to be peculiar to the village. I was shown an example of this by Daphne Bristow,who kept the Post Office at Bradenham. It was made by her Granny, Mrs Currell.
There is one example of "gold lace", which was reputedly made for the Duchess of York in 1895
Some of the examples bear the name of Mrs Bousfield, who lived in Loosley House.
The Pillow
These could be homemade but were usually bought locally. There was a shop in Olney especially noted for their production.
South Buckinghamshire pillows, such as would have been used here, were bolster shaped and covered in hessian. They were stuffed with long pieces of wheat straw running along their length. This type of straw is rarely grown nowadays (year 2000) so other fillings have to be used. The straw was hammered down to ensure that it was very tightly packed. It was essential that the finished pillow was firm enough to hold the pins tightly. Eventually, the central (most used) part would become worn and the pillow would then have to be remade.
The whole pillow was covered in fabric; usually blue to show off the lace, or green, which was thought to be less trying to the eyes. Smaller cloths called "cover cloths" were used to cover the pillow where the work was proceeding to keep everything clean and to separate one batch of bobbins from another.
Bobbins and pillows were considered very personal items. They would normally be burnt when the user died. My mother was lucky enough to be given an old village pillow and bobbins which had been kept in a friend's attic, but she was told that she must never let anyone know where they came from.
The Bobbins
In the South of Bucks these were all wooden, hand turned from local timbers, often fruit woods. They could be bought from local shops such as "The Bobbin Castle" in High Wycombe High Street, but usually they would be made by the men of the family using the same skills as were required by the bodgers in the local woods when making legs for Windsor chairs
Their size varied according to the thickness of the thread being used. They needed to be heavy enough to hang down from the work in order to keep the thread taught. Around High Wycombe they were often decorated with inlaid bands or spots of different coloured wood. They could also be decorated with pewter bands and occasionally with small objects like buttons and shells. Some bobbins were made as a token of affection or for special occasions. When wooden bobbins are used they acquire a lovely shine from the grease on the fingers of the worker.
In the north of Bucks where mutton bone was sometimes used, bobbins were much finer. They were often marked with inscriptions or other decoration. As they were too thin to provide the necessary weight, circles of beads were wired onto their ends. Such bobbins are much collected now but I find the simple South Bucks bobbin much easier to work with.
The top section of the bobbin is like a tiny cotton reel and is used to wind the thread onto. The thread is held by a special knot to prevent it from unwinding while working. The worker does not need to touch the thread and so the work can be kept clean. Bobbins are used in pairs, which are often of a similar design.
The Bobbin Box
Surplus bobbins were stored in small handmade wooded boxes. Most have bent hand made nails or hinges. The very early lace makers from the "low countries" had special compartments in their bible boxes to contain bobbins, so precious did they consider them to be.
The Bobbin Winder
These were not essential as thread can be wound onto the bobbins by hand but they certainly speed up the process. They look rather similar to small spinning wheels, with a wheel to turn the skein of thread, and a small vice like clamp to hold the bobbin.
The Threads
Fine linen thread was preferred for Bucks Point lace It is much stronger than cotton and less likely to break while working. Thicker thread known as gimp could be used to outline the design. Modern workers have had to adapt to different types of thread as linen thread is very hard to obtain. Even for earlier workers it was imported and so would have to be purchased from a supplier or specialist shop.
Our villages are known to have been a source of "gold Lace", probably using very fine brass wire. Whether any of the thread was truly gold I do not know. Certainly I have not been able to find any examples of such thread in the village, probably because it was too expensive to keep. There is an example (much tarnished) in Aylesbury Museum archives
Towards the end of local lace making, villagers began to make a very coarse lace. It was made of a woollen thread called yak and would have been used for household purposes rather than clothing. I was given a sack full of bobbins by an old friend. Many were very large and had been used for this type of lace. Some were wound with coloured thread, which was also used in a bid to encourage sales.
Pins
Pin making was a specialised process. People in our area obtained their pins from Long Crendon where it was a cottage industry until the Industrial Revolution. Pins were made of brass so that they would not rust and mark the lace. The heads were applied by hand and were sometimes decorated with blobs or black wax or beads. The marked pins would show how much progress the worker had made in a set time and were called "stivers"
Patterns
The patterns were known as prickings, since the position which the pins were to take was marked out by small holes made with a needle like "pricker". Again this was specialised work. Workers depended on a supplier to provide the template for the pricking. This work was mainly done by men. I remember re-pricking a much used pattern for a local worker as she had never learnt to do it herself. As South Bucks pillows were bolster shaped they were ideal for long lengths of lace, and short strips of pricking would be placed one after the other around them to make a continuous piece of lace, or a continuous piece of pricking might go right round the pillow. This was sometimes overlapped at the ends leading to damage to the pattern in that area.
Prickings were originally made on vellum. Later a waxed card was used. Nowadays prickings can be made from photocopies of the original pattern. Some of the old patterns are held in High Wycombe and Aylesbury museums. They would have taken many hours to make and so were much cherished.
In the days before electricity this was a real problem. Even candles were expensive, so the light was magnified using a globe of water placed in front of the flame. In lace schools a number of globes were used so that several children could work around one candle. To make the best use of the daylight lace makers would work outside their cottages. Even so, the fine work caused their eyesight to deteriorate.
Dicky Pots
Everyone in our villages must have suffered from the cold and yet it would have been impossible to manipulate the bobbins if the fingers were too cld. Dicky pots were used, which were simple claypots with a handle. These were filled with hot embers from the fire and placed under the ladies long skirts and petticoats. They must have been rather a fire hazard!
Pillow Horses
These were wooden stands used to support the pillow while in use. The simplest ones stood at the back of the pillow and prevented it from rolling off the worker's lap. This is the type my mother acquired from Lacey Green.
Lace Schools
At least one lace school existed in Lacey Green and one in Loosley Row. This would have been just one room in a cottage and parents would have paid a small amount for their children to be taught. At such schools very young children, both boys and girls, spent all day working on their pillows. If they were lucky they might also have received a little tuition in reading and counting at the same time. They would learn little songs and rhymes "Lace Tells" to encourage them to work faster and some of these were semi - educational. An example would be:-
"Get to the field by one,
Gather the rod by two,
Tie it up at three,
Send it home by four,
Make her work hard at five,
Give her supper at six,
Send her to bed at seven,
Cover her up at eight,
Throw her down the stairs at nine
Break her neck at ten,
Gather her to the well at eleven,
Stamp her in at twelve,
How can I make the clock strike one
Unless you tell me how many you've done?"
This somewhat bloodthirst poem gives some idea of how hard the lives of children could be. The "rod at two" clearly shows that children who misbehaved would be beaten. The last two lines refer to the practice of calling out when a set number of pins had been used. In our villages the water table was too low for people to have wells. Instead, they had water tanks. Jumping in the tank was a common method of committing suicide.
Wealthy ladies, who lived in large country houses, towards the end of the 1800's in some lace making areas, were aware of the poverty around them. Many tried to help the village lace makers..
One such was Mrs Eveline Forrest who lived at Grymsdyke Lodge. We know of her work from a special investigation made by a Mr. A. S. Cole from the Victoria and Albert Museum. He was sent by the government to "salvage" the lace industry. In November 1891 he reported:-
"I may be allowed to add here some particulars which I have received through correspondence with Mrs. Forrest, who resides near Princes Risborough, regarding lacemaking at Lacey Green, nr. Risborough, Bucks" :-
"The means of producing and supplying lace makers at Lacey Green with new and well drawn designs rests in the main with Mrs. Forrest, and all the lace made to order, except what may be ordered by dealers for shops, passes through her hands. There are about 20 to 30 workers employed at Lacey Green, and were the trade to revive, there may be as many more. The average earning is not over 6d.(pence) a day. No children are being trained to the industry. As regards designs for lace, Mrs Forrest's endeavour is to reproduce old patterns, which she regards as "far more beautiful in every way". She possesses several very perfect prickings, which must be fifty years old and which have never yet been worked for the sole reason that no purchaser can be found, and also, ladies will not wait to get a length made, which in the case of fine lace "must take time". The specimens of lace, which Mrs Forrest lent to me to look over, were narrow edgings of point net ground Bucks lace in which the headings or objects were repeated over and over again, as in lace from other places I visited. There were coloured coarse laces, suitable for curtains and trimmings to household linens, and similar to the kind of coarse lace made(however with greater variety of pattern) in Le Puy and in Bohemia...."
Other sources of information also speak of Mrs Forrest's work. The handwritten minutes of the North Bucks Lace Association Committee Meetings (undated) record:-
"Mrs Forrest, a devoted friend of this organisation, has encouraged the revival for the past 15 years in Lacey Green. She is partial to the fine old Bucks designs which she considers equal to those worn a hundred years ago by our ancestors .....Her workers undertake, from the finest Bucks at one guinea a yard, to narrow torchon at two and a half (old) pence a yard, without discarding Duchess or Maltese. They use, from the finest Honiton (cotton) to the coarsest linen threads.
Harris's flax linen thread is invaluable for the new and cheap art coloured lace intended to match the embroidery of linen curtains, teacloths and bedspreads, eagerly sought after, often by old women with failing eyesight and trembling hands. True, for many engaged in household work the earnings are scarcely over three shillings per week, but often the sum is real windfall considering it has been gained with moments otherwise lost".
An account of Buckinghamshire Lace Making written in 1900 by Miss M. E. Burrows, first secretary to the North Bucks Lace Association, which organised the industry, states:-
"We have among others; Mrs. Forrest, Lady Thistleton Dyer and the late Duchess of Buckingham and Chandos, the Countess Spencer and Mrs. Nind, to all of whom we are deeply indebted for the basis of the recent revival of Bucks lace trade, now some 20 or 30 years ago; and many are now working with success on the foundations of their good efforts and, we trust, that interest in real and well made lace has come to stay in England at least. And we can almost say that at the present the demand for good lace is greater than the supply but there is still much uphill work before its supporters and promoters, for many reasons" ... (Unfortunately the latter part of this account is missing)
Other information has been gleaned from undated or unnamed news cuttings and hand written notes
- A scrap of paper from Aylesbury without source or date reports:- 20 or 30 people in Lacey Green made lace in 1881 for Mrs. Forrest. Average earnings were not over 6 (old) pence a day.
- In 1895, gold lace was made for the Duchess of Yok.
- Mrs. Forrest watches with anxiety the dying out of the pricker's art, by which were faithfully copied old worked designs onto lace makers cardboard.
- Several samples of typical patterns can be forwarded for selection to would be buyers by Mrs. Forrest; who, unable to supply any materials for the craft, expresses herself willing, when asked, to give addresses of reliable dealers. . Although Mrs Forrest did not supply threads, she wrote to William Barbour & Sons of Lisburn, Ireland, requesting information. The letter of reply, dated 16th March 1893, is now in Aylesbury Museum: -
Mrs Forrest
Grymsdyke Lodge
Dear Madam,
As requested by your postcard of the 5th, we have much pleasure in sending you herewith samples of our lace threads, prices of which are as follows.
Best quality no 14 16 20 60 70 80 90 100 120
Full white per lb 2/10 2/11 3/5 7/1 8/3 9/3 10/4 11/6 13/9
Postage four and a half d. per lb. extra.
Trusting that you will find these samples suitable and, if so, favour us with an order
Yours truly,
Mrs Forrest taught needlework at Lacey Green and Loosley Row Schools. She also heard singing in the schools.
The Local History and Chair Museum in High Wycombe and the County Museum Reserve Collection at Halton have lace samples from Lacey Green. These are labelled with the name Mrs. Forrest, and often priced per yard. Later, Mrs T.M. Forrest (possibly the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Forrest),gave a large collection of lace samples to the museum, but no information was supplied with them.
Sale Of Lace
Mrs. Forrest was somewhat unusual, in trying to help local lace makers to market their lace through the Lace Associations. Most ladies were simply patrons and gave an annual donation to support lace sales. Sales or Exhibitions were held in the large houses of these wealthy patrons, frequently in London.
Another sales outlet was the Annual Exhibition held in Oxford Town where there was a competition to encourage the making of lace. The report below comes from the Bucks Free Press, dated 31st July 1892.
Oxford Self Help Association
At the annual exhibition held by this association at Oxford on June 2nd and 3rd 1892, among the successful exhibitors for pillow laces made by the cottagers in Oxon, Bucks and Berks, we are glad to observe the names of several of the pillow lace makers of this village (Lacey Green).
First Division (the laces over 3 inches wide), Mrs Moses Hawes obtained a second prize for a copy of an ancient black silk lace and Mrs Simeon Smith a third prize for an art lace (Cluny design) in coloured flax thread.
Second Division for laces over one inch wide, Mrs Moses Hawes was again successful gaining first prize for a lace, the design of which, is said to date from the time of Queen Elizabeth. Mrs Denning (Loosley Row) obtained a similar distinction for a handsome lace of old Buckinghamshire design. Mrs Tomkins and Mrs Peter Gibbons (Speen) both gained third prizes in this division, and the laces of Mrs.Loosley and Mrs John Adams were commended
Third Division for laces under one inch wide, Mrs John Currell gained first and second prizes, Mrs Codgell (North Dean) a second prize and Mrs Tomkins a third prize.
From the very satisfactory results of this exhibition, as far as the cottagers of Lacey Green, Loosley Row and Speen are concerned, it is hoped that the revival of the lace making which has lately taken place to some extent in this village, as in many others, may steadily progress and prosper
A news cutting from Oxford Town Hall on May 25th to 27th 1900 states:-
"An exhibition of Buckinghamshire pillow point laces was opened by HRH Princes Louise. Attending were Mrs. Forrest, Miss Sivewright, Miss Dewar, Miss Pope and Miss Burroughs”
This must have been the Mrs Forrest from Lacey Green, Miss Sivewright and Miss Pope of Headingon supported the Thame District Industry. Miss Burroughs represented the North Bucks Lace Association. Miss Dewar's interest is not known.
It was usual for the ladies who helped the lace makers to have a sample of each lace offered for sale. They would show these to friends and encourage them to purchase lace. Mrs Forrest's samples are marked "Please return to Mrs. Forrest", which indicates that these were lent to would be purchasers.
Addition:- .Rosemary Mortham made a record of local lace makers as follows:-
Mary Witney (nee Mary Claydon). Mary was related to Dennis Claydon. She was born on 11th June 1843. In the 1851 census she is described as a Lace maker, aged 7 years. In later life, her son Albert John Witney is known to have turned her bobbins out of plum wood.
Charlotte Briscoe (nee Charlotte Hawes). Charlotte was born about 1854, and is also listed as a lace maker in the1881 census
Clara Rixon, wife of Fred Rixon. Click 1964 Lace Makers Interviewed
Minnie Brown, later known as Min Adams, wife of Fred Adams. Click 1964 Lace Makers Interviewed
Mrs Mary Currell. Grandmother of Daphne Bristow. She is known to have made "coloured" lace, her family originated from the lost Hamlet of Coombs (between Lacey Green and Loosley Row). She eventually went blind, so perhaps the colours helped her to see the work as her eyesight was failing. Daphne's mother and aunt also made lace. Some of her mother's bobbins had her son's names on them
When Daphne was a schoolgirl (about 1920) she remembered three old ladies who used to meet in each others houses for the morning, while the children were at school. They took a sandwich, had a chat, and made lace for sale. They spoke of making lace for the trousseau of Lady Sydoney, daughter of the Earl of Bucks
The Free Press has several reports of lace makers taking prizes in local shows..
In 1891 The Cottagers' Garden Society Show was held in the grounds of Grymsdyke. The lace and beadwork were well done. Winners for lacemaking were:-
Mrs M Lacey
Mrs J Bowler
Mrs E Tomkins
Mrs E Turner
Mrs R Gibbons
Mrs J Currell - grandmother to Daphne Bristow, lived at 2 Lime Tree Cottages, Kiln Lane.
Mrs A Floyd - grandmother to Harry Floyd, lived at Floyds Farm
In 1892 at the Oxford Self Help Association, successful exhibitors were:-
Mrs Moses Hawes, mother of Nancy Hawes
Mrs Simeon Smith (coloured flax thread) related to Doug Tilbury
Mrs Devening
Mrs Tomkins
Mrs John Adams
Mrs John Currell (see above
Mrs West - taught Connie Baker of Gommes Forge
Miss Dawson
Miss Dawson was originally a maths teacher at Wycombe High School. She lived in Speen in a tiny cottage almost opposite Speen Weavers. After retirement she became interested in bobbin lace making and visited as many old local workers as she could, finding out the techniques involved in the craft. Her maths background was very helpful in reproducing the old patterns. She taught lace making at Wycombe College and other places for many years and was active into her old age. She also instructed a few young ladies at the High School, including myself. She was almost singlehandedly responsible for the revival of interest in lace making in this area.
Mrs. Barbara Edwards
Mrs. Barbara Edwards had learned Lace making from Mrs Joan Buckle of Prestwood. She came to the village to live in Hetts Orchard with her son in law and daughter. She was a very fine craftswoman and even made lace for the Queen. She demonstrated at many craft shows and taught lace making in the USA when visiting her son.
Mrs Jean Gedge
Jean lived in Lacey Green, then Speen, and now Naphill. She taught many people to make lace.
Mrs Doris Oliver
Doris Oliver (mother of Rosemary Mortham) started to make lace in 1953. Like most modern lace makers she was interested in a great variety of crafts. She was taught by Miss Dawson, who had taught her maths at Wycombe High School many years before. She moved to Lacey Green after the Second World War and remembers seeing some of the old villagers making lace, including:-
Mrs Rixon, Mrs Minnie Adams, Mrs Kirby and her sister Mrs Redrup and her daughter.
Doris and her daughter were part of a fairly successful revival of bobbin lace making locally, but only as a hobby. Sadly (as of 2009) even her generation are gradually passing on, and there seems little interest amongst younger people.
Mrs Rosemary Mortham - Modern Day Lacemakers
Rosemary still belongs to the Risborough Lacemakers. Anyone interested in learning lace making, or wishing to join the group is welcome to contact her on (01844 345863)
She is one of the few ladies in Lacey Green who are still able to make lace. The others include Mrs Jill Baker and Mrs Eveline Lunn.