Hand-knotted Carpets are no longer made in the British Isles, the last in England being the Royal Wilton Carpet Company, closed 1960, and Donegal Carpets Ltd Killybegs Co.Donegal Eire which closed in 1987. Herewith listed by CROR are the known handmade manufactures up until that time.
Having searched Central Asia for a likely partner to produce silk rugs we have settled on working with Turquoise Mountain a charitable endeavour set up in 2006 by HRH Prince of Wales ( as was then ) Rory Stewart and others to promote areas of traditional crafts in counries including Afghanistan. We will also be running a parralel trials in Turkey with our more usual producers.
A talk will be given illustrating our work with Turkish bespoke carpets made from natural dyes and hand-spun wool. The House Directory Live is hosted by the main event Battersea Decorative Fair on the mezzanine floor, where we also have a stand M03 for the duration of the fair (7-12 May). The talk will focus on the processes of commission, design, dying, weaving and final project installation.
Temple Newsam (historically Temple Newsham), is a Tudor-Jacobean house in West Yorkshire with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown. The house is one of nine Leeds Museums and Galleries sites. In 1920s, the entire house contents were sold off and very recently some of the Wilton / Kidderminster stair carpeting from 1870s has been reunited back to the house. However, some 10metres is missing and we are investigating making faithful replicas in Turkey.