Leek Embroidery Society facts for kids

The Leek Embroidery Society was started in 1879 in Leek, Staffordshire. It was also known as The Leek Society or The Society. This group became famous for making beautiful embroidery for homes and churches. Their work won important awards because it was so fine and well-made.

The Society also created a special way of embroidering using tussar silk. Their goal was to make art embroidery and fine needlework popular. Their amazing pieces were shown in many exhibitions around the world. The start of the Leek Embroidery Society also led to the creation of the Leek School of Art Embroidery.

The Story of the Society

How Art Embroidery Began

In the 1870s, a new style called Art Needlework (or art embroidery) became very popular in Britain. This was a different way of embroidering that many people learned and taught. It was a change from an older, more simple style called Berlin wool work. That older style had been popular since the 1830s.

Art Needlework groups wanted to make embroidery better and more artistic. They also wanted to help women who needed to earn money by giving them good jobs.

Starting the Leek Embroidery Society

The Leek Embroidery Society was founded in 1879. It was first called the Leek Sewing Circle. The founders were Thomas Wardle and his wife, Elizabeth Wardle. Thomas was a silk dyer who later became a knight for his work in the silk industry. Elizabeth was a very talented English embroiderer.

Thomas gave Elizabeth some tussar silk. He asked her to create a new embroidery style using it. He hoped this would encourage needlewomen to use his silks. Thomas wanted to grow his silk dyeing business. He got this special silk from India.

Elizabeth developed a new kind of embroidery using tussar silk. This is how the Leek Embroidery Society began. Elizabeth strongly supported the Art Needlework style. She wanted the Society to promote this artistic embroidery. Elizabeth was a top artist in this field. She was inspired by people like William Morris. She knew Morris because her husband, Thomas, worked with him. They developed natural vegetable dyes together. The Leek Embroidery Society's work was a great example of the Arts and Crafts movement. William Morris was a main leader of this movement.

Exhibitions and Special Silks

In 1881, the Society held an exhibition at the Leek Art School. The director of the South Kensington Museum gave out the prizes. The exhibition showed their church embroidery and fifteen other pieces for homes.

Other famous groups like Morris & Company and the Royal School of Needlework also sent their work. This showed that art needlework was now seen as a real art form.

The Leek embroiderers often used tussar silk floss. This silk was usually dyed with Thomas Wardle's natural dyes. They used it on woven silk fabric for church items. For home items, they used it on hand-blocked silk. Some of these silks came from Thomas Wardle's own silk factories. Besides tussar floss, they also used gold thread from Japan. The Leek embroidery style was easy to spot. It had beautiful designs and bright, rich silk colors. Members also used appliqué, which means sewing pieces of fabric onto a larger piece. They sometimes worked on printed fabrics too.

Selling Their Work

In 1883, a shop was opened in Bond Street in London. It was run by Thomas Wardle and W. S. Brough, but it didn't last long. Later, items were sold through other shops. There was also a shop in St. Edward Street, in Leek. This shop was next to the Wardles' home. They sold things for the home like cushions, drapes, and antimacassars (covers for furniture).

The Famous Bayeux Tapestry Replica

The Bayeux Tapestry replica made by the Leek Embroidery Society, on display at Reading Museum in 2019.

By 1885, thirty-seven women from the Leek School of Art Embroidery Society started a huge project. They began making a copy of the famous Bayeux Tapestry. Elizabeth Wardle had seen the real Bayeux Tapestry at an exhibition. She believed Britain should have its own version.

The copy took one year to finish. This amazing replica was shown all over Britain. It also traveled to the USA and Germany. In 1895, it found its permanent home at Reading Museum. The replica of the Bayeux Tapestry is the most well-known work made by the Leek Embroidery Society.

The Society's Later Years

The Society's work was very popular until about 1900. Their items were sold in Wardle’s shop in New Bond Street. You could also find them at William Morris’s shop in Oxford Street. Other stores like Liberty & Co in Regent Street and Debenham & Freebody also sold their products.

Elizabeth Wardle passed away in 1902. After her death, the Society's work quickly slowed down. Products using the Society’s designs continued to be sold in the Leek shop. This shop finally closed in the 1930s.

Images for kids

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  The Bayeux Tapestry replica made by the Leek Embroidery Society, on display at Reading Museum in 2019.