Education - Fuller's Teasel

Dipsacus fullonum ssp fullonum. Historically teasels have been used to bring up a lustrous polished nap or pile on certain woollen cloths before the final finishing process. This image was taken from the bas-relief on the Cloth Worker's Court Building at the University of Leeds.


And here they are ready for action at Armley Mills, apparently no mechanical invention has been found to match the teasel.


The image was manipulated in photoshop, printed on cloth and stitched by Elizabeth Thackrah.

Textile and Industrial Heritage - James Hare

Having written about Alfred Brown's company (established in 1915) I've now started looking to see if any other companies on the Tapestry have survived with the original families running them. James Hare's is one such, and the family were very generous in providing silk fabric for use on the Tapestry.
James Hare started his apprenticeship in a woollen mill in the mid c19. He then became a woollen and worsted merchant first in a cottage in Clare Street (1865), and then he took a warehouse on Wellington Street. In 1913 the firm began to manufacture cloth at Arlington Mills and then acquired a warehouse on Queen Street and built Coronet House.

In 1973 “Hare of England” were sold to Illingworth Morris of Bradford and the fourth generation of the family have continued in business as “James Hare Silks” one of the largest distributors of silk fabrics.
I'm hoping someone from the company can add information about the change of logo.

Valerie Horner made the logo in goldwork, taking 45 hours in the task. Elizabeth Thackrah assembled the book cover with hand dyed fabrics and with notions supplied by Brian Peace, Margaret Clark and Maureen Carr.
Godfrey Harland hand stitched the building on printed fabric in 29 hours.


PS reply from James Hare that this has always been their logo

Textile and Industrial Heritage - Alfred Brown

Harvey Nichols in Leeds currently has an in store exhibition celebrating the cloth manufacturers of Yorkshire. Included are the firms:

Alfred Brown (Bramley, Leeds) , Arthur Harrison (Huddersfield), Hainsworth (Pudsey), Bower Roebuck (Huddersfield), Edwin Woodhouse (Pudsey), John Cavendish (Huddersfield), John Foster (Bradford), Joseph H Clissold (Bradford), Abraham Moon (Guiseley), Savile Clifford (Huddersfield), Taylor&Lodge (Huddersfield). It's good to know there are still these firms around in Yorkshire.

When Alfred Brown's wanted to be included on the panel what better way of representing them than the end product of their weaving. The Tapestry had recently acquired computerised sewing machines and Elizabeth Thackrah experimented with several designs until this was finally chosen.

In 2003 AW Brown sent this description of the firm

"Originally known as Brown & Sons (Bramley) Ltd founded by Mr Herbert Brown JP, a well known Leeds Liberal, deputy Lord Mayor and Chairman of the Leeds Permanent Building Society. the original company made uniform clothes for police, fire brigades and the armed forces.
The company had a difficult start and lost £30,000 in the 1920s slump. Mr Alfred Brown Snr was asked by his father to help pull the company round as Mr Herbert Brown did not want the stigma of bankruptcy.
At the time of the slump Mr Alfred Brown Snr ran 2 looms out of 43 for their own use, the rest weaving on commission.
From this low position Mr Alfred Brown Snr and Mr Stanley Brown progressed to the war years of 1939-45. the trade after the war changed to domestic production and Montague Burton was the corner stone of the business for many years.
The next generation came into the business in the 1950s, Mr Peter Brown, Mr Alfred Brown Jnr and Mr David Brown.
New machinery was bought and good progress was made. The business is now run by the sons of Mr Alfred Brown Jnr, Ian Brown, Nigel Brown and Roger Mc Ardle with 24 Sulzer looms producing 450 pieces/week (in 1950s 43 looms produced 43 pieces weekly).

LS 2000

From the eighteenth to the twenty-first century in twenty four hours.

After the Money Works panel had been unveiled other firms from the financial sector were eager to be included on the Tapestry. The talk then was of 24-hour and internet banking and many new developments were springing up around Leeds, particularly around the waterfront.

LS2000 - Urban Fabric represents a communications superhighway around the border, and the historical superhighway, the river, running down the centre of the panel. When it was first planned the idea was to incorporate fibre optics in the design but, despite attending many workshops, they had to be ruled out as unworkable.

Darren Newby of Carey Jones was commissioned to design an architectural map suggesting 'urban fabric' which includes the River Aire, some of the statues from city square and the floor plan of the Tetley Brewery Wharf visitor centre ( or is it the Corn Exchange?).

The architectural map was then machine stitched onto a huge piece of pelmet vilene by Elizabeth Thackrah and the individually embroidered buildings were fixed to board to raise them from the surface of the map. This posed quite a problem for the team who had to research extensively for conservation grade glues which were capable of bearing the weight of the pieces. Before the re-launch last year this panel had to be removed from it's frame to make minor repairs.

and finally.........
the mouse traps on Secret Lives of Objects are definitely worth a peak.