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Material Power: Let the textiles do the talking

National Trust

17 May 2024
11:00 – 15:30
See organiser for pricing
Ages 0 – 18 years

Description

A celebration of tapestry, embroidery and appliqué. Discover how Bess of Hardwick’s exquisite textile collection tells her story.

Elizabethan England was a material world. Power, identity and virtue were all expressed though what you owned and what you built.

Elizabeth Shrewsbury designed Hardwick Hall to shout about who she was and how far she had come. From the solid stone ES initials on the roof to the magnificent tapestries and textiles she hung inside, everything was a material statement about Bess.

The stories on the wall:

Tapestries and textiles were more than just interior decoration, they were a form of art used to make a statement. Their size, expensive materials and the stories they told made them the perfect medium to publicly project the power and status of the owner.

Discover the symbolism and hidden meaning in the images and stories which don the 400- year-old walls. See if you can spot Bess’ devotion to Penelope throughout the hall, a beacon of virtue dedicated to her husband.

Conservation:

It took 24 years for the 13 Gideon tapestries to go through cleaning and conservation and a whopping £1.7 million to restore them back to their full glory.

Find out more about the painstaking work of the specialist cleaning team in Belgium and the people behind the hand stitched repairs at the National Trust’s Conservation Studio.

Taking in the tapestries:

Let the textiles do the talking in the Long Gallery as you uncover new stories in the Gideon tapestries through ‘slow looking’. Accompanied by a magnificent soundscape, this really will be a treat for the senses!

This event is free, but normal admission charges apply for the venue.

Call 01246 850430

Children welcome

This display will in the hall only, across the Museum Rooms, the High Great Chamber and the Long Gallery.

The displays in the Museum Rooms of the Hall are on the ground floor and will be fully accessible. Please note that to view the upper floors of the hall, there is no lift available and is only accessible by stairs.

Please note that last entry to the hall is at 2.45pm.

General

Reimagine the 'Lost Embroidery' at Hardwick Hall: Join Layla Khoo and stitch the fabric of modern virtue through creative participation.

Fully accessible guided group walk in the grounds of Hardwick Hall's most iconic buildings.

Find out more about the work of the specialist craft teams who help us care for the National Trust collections and historic properties.

Intermediate 3.5 mile group walk around the Hardwick Estate. Make friends and get outdoors!