The history of Ruskin Linen and Lace

Article Added: 26/02/2010 09:27:38
By Jenny Lewis

In her latest article for HotHive Textiles, Jenny Lewis has been looking into the wonderful world of Ruskin lace.

Some instructions for working Ruskin lace would look more appropriate in a gardening manual — "Plot the centre unit so that the petals will not touch the bugs"! If this sounds strange, then stranger still is the history of local lace making. The techniques which combine three ancient crafts, namely drawn thread work, cut work and needlepoint lace, are probably as old as the Coniston hills surrounding its birthplace.

It seems strange that Ruskin should take an interest in lace making; conversely, when one considers that Ruskin was a man of a thousand characters, there is nothing odd about it at all. Despite his many impractical and Utopian ideas, he had an eye for detail and beauty. On one of his journeys to the Lake District he stayed at an old Inn in Lancaster. He wrote, "Such ups and downs of stairs and black wood panels, and lovely old silk samplers in the bedrooms..." He was also entranced by the church linens and laces of Florence in Italy, and brought a pattern home. Like all this type of lace, it was based on a bisected square; however, this design doesn’t appear to have petals or bugs, but has pyramids, picots, bars and bullion knots! Why Ruskin should have been so intrigued by this little design is a mystery, but it was to change the lives and shape the future of hundreds of people. It also fitted into the plans for his newly formed Guild of St. George in 1883.

The aim of the Guild was to encourage local folk to make money by developing their talents in agriculture and handicrafts. Ruskin found the Industrial Revolution de-humanising and planned to bring back personality and pride into craftwork. His idea was to ’start from scratch’ using raw materials and hopefully ending up with a product as beautiful as the Florence lace. Fortunately for John Ruskin, many factors worked in his favour, making the impossible, possible. The raw materials of flax or hemp were already grown in the area as a farmer’s condition of tenancy, with the resulting cloth called ’harden sark’. The ’hards’ were the course fibres of hemp, whilst ’sark’ meant shirt or outer garment. The Rev. Robert Walker is recorded as being owed money. Being paid in kind instead, he received amongst other items, a goose and a ’Harden Sark’. It must have been a prickly life, as the material was sackcloth, the same material the Vikings wore. Obviously, this ’harden sark’ needed refining if Ruskin’s venture was to succeed.

Ruskin was the ’Master’, whilst the companion of the Guild of St. George was his friend Albert Flemming. Albert and his housekeeper Marion Twelves lived at Skelwith Bridge in Langdale. It was Marion who started one of the most successful ventures conceived by Ruskin. She worked hard to find a spinning wheel as there were none in existence locally. Eventually, one was obtained from the Laxey Woollen Industry on the Isle of Man. Marion couldn’t spin and had to learn the art from a local elderly lady who had spun as a girl. The indomitable Marion persuaded a local carpenter to make a dozen spinning wheels, purchased by the Guild of St. George. These were housed at St. Martins, Elterwater and local ladies travelled there to learn spinning. Ruskin’s anti Industrial Revolution ideals were slowly being realised, although he disappeared from the picture in order to follow his own more ’genteel’ pursuits of reading or letter writing. When the ladies were proficient, they were allowed to take the spinning wheels home. The thread had to be spun very finely, and for each pound of linen, a lady could earn 2/6d — a miserly sum indeed.

The spinning wheels turned, but the shuttles didn’t fly. Hardly surprising as there was no loom in Coniston. Undaunted, Marion eventually procured one from a retired Kendal weaver. This was a disaster, as it arrived in many bits and pieces. Nobody knew how to re-assemble it, until amazingly it was re-built from a photograph of Giotto’s ’campanile’ in Florence, which showed a cottage loom on a mural. To complete this tentative endeavour, another retired weaver was persuaded to move  into the Coniston area, and the first length of linen was woven in 1884 measuring 20yds. It was appalling! Albert Flemming wrote to John Ruskin, "I own it seems terrible stuff, frightful in colour and of dreadful roughness with huge lumps and knots meandering up and down its surface." Amazingly, a lady called by and bought 12yds she so admired it. There’s no accounting for taste!

As the workers grew in proficiency, Marion Twelves decided to start her own business in Keswick, but firstly put into practice her own enterprising ideas. These were to expand the Ruskin Linen Industry by making the material up into saleable items and garments. This was a great success with the gentry and American tourists, as well as Heals and Liberty of London who proved to be good customers. However, as yet there was no lace, so the enterprising Marion Twelves started to teach embroidery by starting a local needlework class in 1884. This included Greek lace, which later became known as Ruskin Lace, and was the only type to continue in England until today. John Ruskin had a ’motto’ which he allowed Marion Twelves to use on her work. This was the word ‘today’. Marion was rightly proud at receiving authority to use Ruskin’s mark and said, "I set down once and for all, that my industry is the only one of any description having authority from Mr. Ruskin to use his name." Ruskin found his ’mark’ from the Bible, which was ’today’ if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart...’ Ruskin even had the word ’today’, surrounded by a wreath of wild roses printed on a postcard to be sold to tourists in Keswick. Unfortunately Marion Twelves never registered the trademark in 1894 and the copy was lost when her cottage burnt down, so sadly, the motto of John Ruskin can no longer be used.

Marion Twelves devoted 35 years of her life establishing the Ruskin Linen and Lace Industry. During this time, she had many other ladies working for her in various parts of the Lakes. Mrs. Pepper and her daughter continued the work at Elterwater and in the original photographs the mother is seen weaving and her daughter sitting at one of the original spinning wheels.

In 1932, Adult Education classes started and Mrs. Coward from Coniston was invited to teach, but died soon afterwards. A pupil of hers Mrs. Winifred Raby continued the work from Broughton in Furness. Little did Mrs. Raby know, that like Marion Twelves, Ruskin Lace was to become her life’s work. During Mrs. Raby’s time, the production of handspun and handwoven linen ceased, and manufactured linen was introduced. This was called Glenshee Evenweave and is the same linen that is used today. Mrs. Raby was endued with a tremendous amount of energy and passion just like her forerunners. She continued teaching Ruskin lace in many parts of the Lakes, her longest journey being from her home, to Grange over Sands and back to Broughton. She taught for 36 years, receiving the MBE.

Three years before Mrs. Raby retired, another Coniston lady Elizabeth Prickett attended several of Mrs. Raby’s classes and became besotted by Ruskin lacemaking. Just prior to Mrs. Raby’s departure Elizabeth was asked to continue teaching Ruskin lace in her stead. She started this in 1970 and it was to change the whole of Elizabeth’s life. From being a trained nurse, she was now a teacher who adored every line, every design, every thread — one might say it consumed her. Elizabeth called it ’womb music’ by which she meant a complete oneness with the creative ideas within her. She wondered why she had been chosen to continue this historic work, to which her husband would reply, "why not?" Like her predecessors, Elizabeth had no teacher training, but found it came naturally to her. Today, she’s the only person in the Lakes teaching Ruskin lace as a main subject, and calls herself ’straight’, ’directional’, and ’disciplined’, liking geometry and monotones. Elizabeth Prickett’s classes number over 70 pupils throughout Cumbria. The interest in lace is still enormous, and her weekend courses at Alston Hall and Higham Hall in Keswick are booked up within the first two hours! Ruskin lace takes about nine weeks to learn, and for those who prefer, other fabrics can be used, as well as other colours. The lace is made into lampshades, wall hangings, curtains, boxes, pin cushions, vanity bags, tray cloths, pot-pourri sachets and cushions etc. Elizabeth feels to be part of Ruskin, and a part of history, yet she says, "Everything exists for the adventurous to modify as long as they don’t loose the identity of the original."

Elizabeth Prickett is one of those special people who history chooses in order to push its beautiful ideas into the future. To date, she has taught over 4,500 pupils. She said, “I feel to be a part of Ruskin and a part of history.” Indeed, she has brought satisfaction and joy to thousands of people and without her dedication, Ruskin Lace may well have faded away, as she was the only person teaching it.

Her eyes lit up when asked for a last thought before she left, she said, “Everything exists for the adventurous to modify as long as they don’t lose the identity of the original.” Elizabeth retired in 2006, after giving 36 years of her life to teaching Ruskin Lace.

Elizabeth was always anxious that she might not be able to find a successor to take over her work. For the first time ever, she has invited two young women to take over her classes. Mrs. Edmondson will teach Ruskin Lace at local venues, whilst  Karen Quickfall will be taking the residential courses in Lancashire and the Lake District, including those at beautiful Higham Hall.  

Mrs. Edmondson is determined to introduce colour into Ruskin Lace, likes working with different coloured linens and wants to give it a contemporary twist. She told me, “Nothing stays the same forever, and we’ve got to find new inspiration, and that is what I hope I can do.”

Karen Quickfall, a member of the Embroiderer’s Guild, reminds me so much of Mrs. Prickett. She bubbled with enthusiasm and confidence as she told me,

“I’m in love with Ruskin Lace. I have always been mathematical and symmetrical and I do so enjoy learning techniques that generations before me also worked. I feel honoured that I am in a position to keep Ruskin Lace alive.” There will be no colour or contemporary twist for Karen. She said, “I look forward to the challenge of continuing Elizabeth Prickett’s work, in bringing the traditional techniques of Ruskin Lace to a new generation.”

These new teachers have put Elizabeth Prickett firmly into the past, and that is where Elizabeth Prickett is content to remain. “I’ve finished now, that’s it, but I’ve had a wonderful life,” she said.