Amanda Boyd, working on behalf of the Windrose Rural Media Trust, has put together a short video, based around some footage of a lacemaker working in Malmsbury, Wiltshire, in the 1960s. You can see the video here. Amanda is a singer and song collector herself, which is one reason that topic looms large in the commentary. We don’t know much about Wiltshire lacemakers, but we’re happy to learn more.
Bertha Newcombe (1857-1947), ‘A Downton Lace Maker’, Salisbury Museum. The watercolour is a portrait of the Wiltshire lacemaker Ann Martin, then aged 82. Her pillow and bobbins are very similar to those shown in the video. Newcombe was a campaigner for women’s suffrage and on social issues, as well as an artist. The illustration is courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.
Pompi parry
Downton bobbins are a different shape to those used in Malmesbury being shorter and with a fat tummy before the point. Malmesbury bobbins are long and straight. The ones in the film appear to be a mix of Malmesbury and Honiton. Both Salisbury and Malmesbury museum each have collections of bobbins.