I had always wanted to walk through the main doors of the beautiful white Queen Mary University building, and at last, I had a reason. However, my visit was short as I was directed back outside to the more recently built library where our archive visit was to take place. Arriving in the study room, a collection of archive boxes lay on the table, full of dark green covered books. There were copies of The Labour Party Conference Annual Report dating back to the early 1920s and The Garment Worker (The magazine of the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers) dating from the 1940s.
After a short time of scouring pages or flicking through, it became apparent to us all that there was not much specific to East London or the Lea Valley—or if there was it would take lots of reading and more than two hours to find it!
However, the steering group managed to discover many interesting facts, related to the garment industry, which were indicative of life at various times. This included a notice detailing “a vigorous drive” to sign up new members to the Union in Hackney. There was news of a “Personality Girl” contest held in Bethnal Green Town Hall (1990)—a more PC version of the Beauty Contest held as part of the London Trade Union Festival. Amongst the pages of the Labour Party Conference Annual Report were long lists of all the organisations represented at those Conferences. The number of organisations linked to the Garment industry was quite astounding with almost every aspect of the trade represented. Along with weavers and spinners were dyers, bleachers, finishers, pattern makers, lace makers, shuttle makers, spindle and flyer makers and warp twisters to name a few. These unions mostly came from northern towns.
One fantastic discovery was the Union Song “Come on Gal” which was publicised with great enthusiasm in a 1960s copy of The Garment Maker. The Union were looking at modern methods of publicity to keep up with the changing times and had enlisted American folk singer Peggy Seeger, along with singer and BBC producer Ewan McColl and clarinet player Bruce Turner—an ex-member of the Humphrey Lyttleton Band, to record the song. It contained a “snappy lyric backed by a tune styled in the modern manner” and members were urged “when you have a record party, see that your Union’s record is played.”
An interesting piece of information was shared by archivist Naomi Sharp who informed us that the Salvation Army once ran a “Knitting House” in Clapton, set up for “wayward girls”—very much in the Lea Valley area. Naomi was once an archivist at the Salvation Army and told us that records of the Knitting House were held at their archive in Camberwell. A visit has been arranged!
Newham Archives are housed in a fairly unremarkable single upstairs room in Stratford Library. What is remarkable though, is the fine collection of maps that we were treated to and the amazing knowledge that Jenny the archivist shared with us. Through looking at maps of the Lower River Lea area of West Ham borough, we were able to see how the environment changed from 1745 to 1916 as industries developed along the river.
The 1745 map was a rural picture of tidal mills (Three Mills and Abbey Mills), bakers, silk weavers and calico manufacturers, all of which lay across the dividing line of the River Lea in Essex. The residents here were known as “Londoners over the borders”. West Ham was a country village, Canning town was just marshland and the area known as Chobham was a pig farm.
Moving on to the 1867 map the story was very different. Both the Industrial Revolution and the railway had made their mark on the landscape and most of the farms and allotments had vanished to make way for housing. The River Lea was lined with all sorts of industry, including chemical, dye and print works as well as jute spinners—located next to the Tesco at Bromley-by-Bow today. Some decades earlier, a map from 1821 showed the calico grounds of Edwards, Laurence and J.Cullum, along with printing grounds belonging to Laurence and Littler. Bromley Hall was also identified on the map as a calico printer.
In addition to the maps, the archive also had a collection of Kelly’s and other trade directories which were very useful for locating the exact addresses of various industries and for generally getting an idea of types of businesses in the area.
Between the maps, the directories and Jenny’s knowledge, this was an extremely interesting, informative and useful visit. I would certainly like to go back there sometime to have a further look at those wonderful maps.
It must be admitted that the approach to Valence House is not very promising. It lies in that belt, which surrounds London and most other British cities, of endless and rather bland streets where there is no particular reason to be a visitor. Dagenham, however, turns out to be so much more than a nondescript suburb. Originally a 14th-century manor house, Valence House was once the home of generations of the Fanshawe family and sits near the site of an ancient Abbey. Before the current housing estate was built up around the House, leaving it in its parkland oasis, the area was still rural—all fields and villages.
Barking Abbey existed from the 6th until the 16th century when it was demolished during Henry VIII’s rampage of dissolution. It had been one of the largest and wealthiest Abbeys in the country, housing nuns and monks at different times. Valence House Museum has some relics from the Abbey, including many that hint at its intriguing textile-related legacy. In the Dark and Medieval Ages, nunneries were often a place of refuge for women who needed an alternative to marriage. However, this did not necessarily mean that these women wanted to leave all their worldly wealth behind them. 7th-century Barking Abbey nuns wove their own cloth but were also notorious for weaving real gold thread into their habits. They were admonished by the Venerable Bede for such vanity. We can now only imagine in what form these golden vanities were integrated into their habits—threads certainly suggest that such luxury was not isolated. Perhaps, they were subtle golden glints, or else full-on bling.
Sometimes you come across an object that is so meaningful and has such an impressive provenance that it leaves you feeling a little star-struck. A modest object in a glass case had such an effect—Mahatma Gandhi’s weaving loom. The loom, once used by one of the greatest leaders and peacemakers of the 20th century, was given to his friend Muriel Lester. Muriel was a London-born writer and international campaigner who herself left a considerable legacy by founding community centres in deprived areas of the East End, including Kingsley Hall in Bow. She had visited Gandhi in India many times, and in 1931 when he travelled to London he stayed at Kingsley Hall for three months. This unimposing and precious object tells the tale of Gandhi’s personal practice of weaving which he developed while he was a prisoner of the British and maintained as a symbolic gesture, encouraging his countrymen and women to spin their own cloth rather than buying imported fabric. Gandhi left this portable spinning loom to Muriel, and it currently lives in a case at Valence House.
Valence House is so-called because of the original Agnes de Valence of 1291. No part of the original building remains but the present house dates from the 14th century. It has been built and rebuilt since, with many rooms and areas from different eras and recent decades still intact. The Fanshawes, a notable family who lived at Valence house for generations, have left a very fine collection of portraits behind, documenting a treasure-trove of costume and textile history. Past lives often seem full of almost fictional eccentricities, and the Fanshawes had their share of contributors. Richard Fanshawe (1608-1666) was a Universal Man, a great intellectual and innovator who travelled widely in Europe, with his wife Ann and several children in tow. Many of their children did not survive the precarious travel of the day and were buried, scattered abroad. When Richard also died abroad, Ann returned to England with her surviving children and Richard’s coffin, which rather gruesomely had a glass window so that she could check his face. While this tale may have nothing to do with textiles, I couldn’t possibly not mention it!
Many traditional craft items don’t survive long enough to be left to museums as they are not as valued as posher items. Valence House has a frankly beautiful and intricate 19th-century farmer’s smock, in what looks like wearable condition. Fortunately, the smock was treasured and kept by a local family and then donated, leaving another clue to the times when the area was largely rural and agricultural.
One of the difficulties that have emerged while researching for the Bow Arts’ Raw Materials: Textiles project, is resisting getting distracted by the many other fascinating facts, contexts, characters and industries that get trawled in with the broad sweep of research. While it is certainly a pleasant and interesting problem to have, we were able to add more threads to our research into textiles and jute manufacturing in the area before all the house building proliferated.
The archive itself springs from enlightened local Gerard O’Leary, who started buying collections and artefacts from local families in the 1930s. His forethought, enthusiasm and innovation in library services have left a wonderful legacy in the survival of Valence House.
It was bitingly cold as we gathered outside the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow in the morning, but our shivers were soon soothed by the warmth of the colourful array of designs and vibrant patterns we were introduced to on a tour through Morris’ key developments and techniques, as explained very competently by our guide curator Rowan Bain.
Morris was instrumental in popularising the processes of printing and dyeing, found to be active along the Lea in the nineteenth century. He even named a collection of his most sophisticated designs after the Lea and other Thames tributary rivers because of their natural properties of energy and flow.
We first discovered a bit of background about Morris, how, although he became a famous socialist, artist, poet and designer, he was originally destined for the clergy. However, after meeting Edward Burn-Jones and reading John Ruskin at university, he became far more influenced by architecture than the church and decided to abandon his former plans and become an artist. Rowan showed us a letter which Morris wrote to his mother explaining his change of direction. We thought it was a great personal document for the museum to have obtained.
We then looked at early Morris designs which were hand-drawn and showed how he was working out pattern repeats for wallpapers and furnishings. The first being his ‘Trellis’ pattern with plants weaving through a trellis background.
Realising there was a gap in the market for a choice of home furnishings available generally on the market, Morris launched his own interior design company in 1861, with craft maker friends such as Philip Webb, who also drew the birds for Morris’ wallpaper designs. As Rowan pointed out, Morris didn’t feel confident enough to draw them himself and had already, from early on in his career, collaborated with a talented pool of friends to complete his visions.
He then took ‘abstraction’ and ‘nature’ as motifs to create ‘flat’ designs for walls, rejecting the fashion for realistic flowers and fruit arrangements popular at the time. He went on to win awards at The Great Exhibition and attract large commissions, such as furnishings for St. James’ Palace.
Here, Rowan showed us the large woodblock design he used.
Merton Abbey Mills
Needing to expand his business space, in1881 he opened workshops on the River Wandle in South West London at Merton Abbey Mills. The river played a vital role in supplying water for the process of rinsing textile dyes.
Arthur Liberty, of Liberty, Regent’s Street, was based just up the road and he also turned to renowned silk printer and Master dyer, Thomas Wardle from Leek, Staffordshire, whom he worked closely with. He loved ‘woad’ blue of earlier textiles but the manufacturing of this had died out and been replaced by Indian indigo.
The whole fabric would be submerged in vats of indigo and then a ‘discharge method’ was used, which meant the ‘bleaching out’ of areas on the fabric where other colours were required and inserting those dyes into the bleached parts. This method was labour-intensive and time-consuming but produced beautiful high-quality textiles.
Woodblock Printing
As Rowan led us downstairs, we came across several hand-carved woodblocks suspended above their corresponding designs. We got to examine them close up to enjoy the detailed lines and skilled laying of metal pins which create ‘points’ within the design.
Nails on the corners of each block were used to register the block as it was laid on the material and a steady hand was needed to ensure the blocks would be laid correctly aligned along with the pattern. Felt was added to the blocks in the areas where it would receive the dye. Morris used natural dye sources, especially indigo and traditional dying techniques.
We then followed Rowan down into the museum’s archive storage in the basement, where we looked at a huge variety of woodblocks in various states of repair or cleaning.
We were shown how Morris worked out his designs and produced one with the different stages of the repeat laid out in lines that would explain clearly where the woodblock maker would work.
The blocks were made of a few thin layers of pearwood pressed and glued together. This was to prevent the wood warping, which it would if it were cut from a single block of wood. They were manipulated by a handle attached to the back of the block and pressed down onto the fabric. A few of us took turns picking up one of the blocks to get a sense of the fairly hefty weight of them. A firm in Bethnal Green, Barrett’s & Co made the blocks for Morris and apparently, the best aid to cleaning them is…spit!
There were shelves packed with woodblocks and other furniture pieces designed by Morris and it was fascinating to peruse his vast collection.
And so, we ended an insightful morning with lovely hot beverages in the café upstairs overlooking the beautiful gardens beyond.
‘Aunque la mona se vista de seda, mona se queda.’ – You can put silk on a monkey, but it’s still a monkey.
The Spanish expression for ‘You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear’.
Chapter one: on fitting and context
It’s impossible to separate the history of industry from the history of migration. The Jews, like so many other cultures, moved freely all around the world in search of work, and what did they discover? That the work is where the demand for services is, and hence where the money is. Another question might be… Why is the money there? Just like the end of a thread in a piece of fabric, if you keep pulling, you’ll soon reveal its inner structure (whilst also possibly destroying the fabric).
Textiles were very in demand in London, and so immigration levels soared. Some migrants even had to change their original craft to adapt to the market. The industry dictated their jobs. That is what immigrants must do, they must adapt, or fit themselves to the market.
During our visit to the Jewish Museum we saw the amazing Yiddish-English Dictionary with loads of English phrases translated into Yiddish. Literally and phonetically – with accents stressing the syllables for some tricky words.
A large percentage of the Jewish community was involved in the tailoring trade in the Western world. During the dawn of the twentieth century this finally paid off, and many of them were able to move to other areas like Hackney. Why? More space, larger houses and cheap rents around the Lea Valley. We know that Lebus Furniture moved to the Lea Valley in 1903, triggering an industry-wide move, with many other factories, including textile ones, moving to that area. The introduction of the singer sewing machine also made it more affordable for immigrants to set up their own workshops.
Chapter two: a wolf in sheep’s clothing, the wedding dress and the Battle of Cable Street
Something caught my attention in the Jewish Museum’s exhibition. In the migration area, there was a large panel with small boards attached displaying quotes. Underneath each board the author and date of the quote was listed. All of the quotes referred to comments made by politicians or powerful members of the media regarding immigration – some of which were quite shocking. The clever thing about this display was that before lifting and revealing the when and the who, one would think that these quotes were said many years ago before the Second World War even, around the time the Holocaust. But surprise! Some of them were said in the 21st century. The same wolves in sheep’s clothing?
We now see the Battle of Cable Street as a historical stand against fascism, and this is frequently invoked in contemporary British politics. But again, it was the working-class people, the unknown, the immigrants, not the Establishment, who faced fascism in the streets, as well as terrible working conditions and pay. Luckily these were improved after several strikes and demonstrations by the East Tailors.
The Wedding Dress.
Kathrin Perrin from the Jewish Museum Archives was showing us a wedding gown. It was an incredible piece of clothing. But what was more incredible was that Kathrin showed us a picture of the wedding for which the gown was used. We could see the bride, wearing it. She said that soon, that dress was going to be exhibited in the main collection for a few different reasons. Firstly, the importance of the dress itself, also the importance of showing how wedding used to be, and lastly because apparently that same couple was involved in the Battle of Cable Street.
We underlined how important it was to show people that, although we always want our heroes to be recognisable political or social figures, it is the ordinary people that are the real heroes for societal changes like this. People as ordinary as that couple enjoying their wedding day, as ordinary as all of us admiring that dress
As the Yiddish–English Dictionary might have said: I should prefer to drink something, coffee or tea, it is all the same to me.
Chapter three: on patterns
To commence the draft mark point 0 and square both ways from it.
1 from 0 = ½ scale; 2 from 0 = ¼ scale; 3 from 0 = scale.
4 from 0 = natural waist length
Gertrude Stein might have said: a star, is a star, is a star.
Here I say: A pattern, is a pattern, is a pattern.
Years, centuries of cloth designing and there are still patterns that are timeless. The piece of clothing that covers our body from the waist to the ankles has been reproduced, revisited and reformulated throughout the centuries to finally arrive at the most efficient solution: trousers. Imagine, layer after layer of experimentation, of stitching, of transmitting the experience, the sewing traditions… by anonymous people, again. Trousers could have different shapes but their internal structure will remain the same. Trousers, are trousers, are trousers.
Unfortunately, these patterns are not only affected by the textiles’ that make them, they are also affected by the human wearing that outfit, wearing that pattern. And so, what’s applied to crafts shouldn’t be always applied to humans.
Again, in the name of tradition, our contemporary world needs to revisit some old patterns. Again, we could see how, during the boom of tailoring in London back in the day, women had to stay in their homes sewing, and were not allowed to go to the factories. And again, a textile related Spanish expression pops up in my mind: ‘Unos tienen la fama y otros tejen la lana’. Translated: ‘Some do all the work and others take the credit’ (some have the fame, some card the wool).
Designers vs executors.
We all see how the textile world (and hence the fashion world) might have changed in shape but not in the pattern.
Can you afford that piece of clothing? It’s yours. Will that piece of clothing give you status? Power? Why do designers get the credit and not the makers? Why do we see, again, all those gorgeous mainstream bodies telling us how we are supposed to look? Oh, how we must follow the pattern. Trousers, are trousers, are trousers.
Why is it commonly accepted that women are supposed to be in charge of the design, the patterns and the sewing in domestic contexts – at the service of the family and the men – but when it comes to the fashion world, the money and the prestige, men are the ones that get the credit?
There are now even more renowned female textile creatives, but still the imbalance is outrageous. We sometimes forget how damaging some patterns are in the name of tradition. We also sometimes forget all of the work that the unknown women and immigrants did for us, the people who worked in the factories, who fought for our rights. To all of you, we salute you.
How true that seemed when I visited Hackney archives along with other members of the RawMaterials: Textiles steering group. This was our first visit to a local authority archive, and what a rich source of stories, narratives and perspectives were on offer. Hackney Archives and Local History Department collect, preserve and provide access to records that contribute to Hackney’s socio-economic and cultural identity. They are the official repository for the historical records of the London Borough of Hackney formed from Hackney, Stoke Newington and Shoreditch records, including council minutes and reports. Their reference collections provide contextual information about the local area and its residents with the oldest record dating from 1356.
Our brief is to research the textile industries on the Lower Lea Valley from mid 17th century to mid 20th century, a very broad brief that includes not only textile manufacturers but also the garment industry. With a careful introduction to the types of catalogues held and the search tools to help access the records, our archivist Elizabeth Green introduced us to the collection. This is when it got really interesting: the O.S. maps from 1870, the historical maps from 1356, the huge picture database of Hackney streets, the Trade and Street directories dating back to 1822. It was hard to know where to start.
But what really captured a lot of our imaginations were the documents relating to the trade unions and the employment practices and rights of the workers, particularly the women. One report I read highlighted how ‘the informal economy provides the flexibility of labour required in the absence of protective legislation’! A continuing theme over hundreds of years it seems. My hero was Sarah Wesker who led strikes across a number of garment factories from 1926 to 1930, in order to improve the employment rights of women workers in the garment industry.
Although we only had a few hours at the archive the hunger for more stories will draw us back. The archives provided us with the evidence of activities in the area but even more reflected the stories and passions of individuals and communities of the Lower Lea. They increased our understanding of the importance of place in the identity and culture of the people of this area. The journey has only just begun.
Tucked away near Olympia in West London, Blythe House is a 100-year-old ex-GPO Sorting Office which currently acts as a store for the reserve collections of the British Museum and the V&A. A palatial Baroque building of red brick and stone, it is surrounded by high railings. Security is tight, not surprisingly. To get inside, you need both a fixed appointment and ID. Once inside, the interior is cavernous and lavishly tiled from floor to ceiling. A wide stair surrounded by ornate iron bannisters takes you to the upper floors.
Except – we took the goods lift, HAM 37, a rare object in its own right, featured in the film Tinker,Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Our visit to the Clothworkers’ Study Centre within Blythe House was facilitated by Suzanne Smith. The Clothworkers’ Centre is the V&A’s textile store; about 100,000 objects are stored here in a carefully controlled environment. Access to view objects can be made by appointment – though for practical reasons because it takes a long time to retrieve, display and then return items to the store – there is a limit imposed of 6 items per visit. Fragile items cannot be viewed, and because this is not always obvious in advance, it is also useful to have two to three extra items in reserve when making an appointment to view. The Clothworkers’ Centre has specially designed workrooms and large tables for display. It is here, with the help of staff to handle the objects, that visitors can examine textiles in detail.
We were fortunate to view a number of pieces, rarely consulted but fascinating to us, nevertheless. All are products of East End textile manufacturers.
The first textile examined was a length of glazed/polished linen and cotton fabric intended for furnishing – possibly for bed hangings. It had a large repeat pattern of two groups of people. Four gentlemen dressed in 18th Century clothes recline with their guns and two hunting dogs amongst classical ruins. The second party is made up of two ladies, fashionably dressed, and in conversation with two gentlemen – one of whom is fishing with a rod. At intervals throughout the piece are classical ruins, trees and other vegetation may be suggesting carefully created parklands or fashionable landscapes.
The textile was printed by Robert Jones of Old Ford, 1769, and his details are carefully placed as inscriptions on classical ruins scattered throughout the design. This textile, with a linen warp and cotton weft, has been produced using a number of techniques to incorporate various colours. It was suggested that this included printing with two engraved copper plates, woodblock printing and pencilling with blue. Purple madder has been used in the printing and it would be interesting to know more about the dyestuffs used to produce the greens, blues (possibly indigo) and browns in the piece. The details of the design and printing are very fine and detailed. A pattern book design has been found and linked to this textile. More details and an illustration can be found in the V&A publication: British Textiles, 1700 to the Present (2010).
It is always interesting to find out how museums acquire objects. We learned that this large piece was offered to the V&A by an antique dealer in 1934. A smaller accompanying piece of the same textile found its way into the Circulation Department, from where it would have been sent out to schools and institutions as an instruction piece by the Museum.
The second piece was printed in red alone using two engraved copper plates. Again, inscriptions tell us that it was printed by “R. Jones & Co Old Ford 1761”. It shows a rural scene with cows, sheep and country folk set amongst a rugged Classical landscape with ruins and follies. There are beautiful bird designs including peacocks. Suzanne reminded us of the influence of contemporary books of drawings and engravings published at this time – for example, Robert Saye’s New Book of Birds (London). It is also obvious to see the influence of French Toile de Jouy designs in this piece.
The introduction of copper-plate printing in the 1750s meant new possibilities in printed textile design. It allowed for the fineness of detail and delicacy of drawing, which could not be achieved with the woodblock technique. It also facilitated much larger pattern repeats, which made it particularly suitable for bed hangings.
The third textile, also monochrome, was plate printed in blue with birds, fruits and flowers accompanied by shells, rococo curves and swags and possibly a bouteh or paisley motif. Not much is definitively known about this piece but it was perhaps made at Bromley Hall.
Bromley Hall was on the right bank of the River Lea in Poplar. It was probably the largest of the early print works – first mentioned in the 1740s, and in operation until the early 19th Century.
A blue plate-printed cotton fabric for a chair seat cover (T.527-1985) was also possibly made at Bromley Hall in 1770-1795, “in the style of Talwyn and Foster”. This design consists of large flowers and loosely trailing ribbons. The cotton fabric has been lined with linen and trimmed with silk ribbon. There are original hooks and eyes attached to the piece and careful examination revealed the original colour tucked away in a seam.
The fabric used is referred to as “china blue” – a complex process for printing with indigo known abroad as “English blue”. It gave fast blues. The indigo was printed directly onto the cloth by plate, or block, as a finely ground paste. The cloth was then immersed alternately in baths of lime (to dissolve the indigo) and then iron sulphate (to reduce it) as many times as was necessary to achieve the desired strength of blue. It could not be used with other techniques, so china blueprints were always monochrome.
A large piece printed by plate in blue at Bromley Hall in 1785 (below) shows a landscape of classical ruins, rivers, farm animals and people. There is also a dwelling house, with an intriguing figure in the doorway, and a church nearby. The vegetation, we thought, seemed to be exotic and we wondered what influences there were behind this. We also noted the small print border sewn on to the textile.
Our final piece, printed in red with a recurring flower and leaf motif (12A-1884) was the earliest textile displayed for us. A block-printed furnishing cotton, it was acquired by the Museum from an Icelandic source in the 1880s. Thought to be English in origin; William Sherwin of West Ham In London was granted a patent ‘for a new way of printing broad callicoe” in 1676 and he was probably the first English manufacturer to print textiles using madder dyes and mordants to fix the dye.
Many calico printers had workshops in East London in the 1690s, near good sources of water like the River Lea. They were establishing a domestic industry imitating the fashionable Indian textiles imported into England by the East India Company.
This was a great visit and an inspiring introduction to the project. It was wonderful to examine closely some early Lea Valley textiles.
Thanks to the on-going support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Drapers’ Company, Raw Materials will continue its journey of discovery with the material textiles.
Raw Materials: Textiles will examine a rich and little-known history that includes silk weaving, calico printing, jute spinning and the invention of dye colours – all along the banks of the River Lea. Like Raw Materials: Wood, the project research will be led by a steering group – enabling members of our local community to choose the stories we tell. Two resident artists will work alongside the project Freya Gabie and Sarah Desmarais, making new work for the end of project exhibition at the Nunnery Gallery in spring 2018.
We are also working with London College of Fashion (LCF) students, who are using Raw Materials: Textiles as a springboard for their research module. Hoping to exhibit some of their work, we are excited to see what the BA Fashion Embroidery and Print students produce.
Raw Materials wouldn’t be possible without our project partners. We will be exploring the archives of Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Haringey, Newham and Tower Hamlets, as well the institution archives at The Jewish Museum London, The Victoria & Albert Museum and the William Morris Gallery. The exhibition will also be touring to Valence House in the summer of 2018, broadening the reach of Raw Materials.
Keep checking the Raw Materials blog to follow our archive visits, research and activity – and to find out about opportunties to get involved!
I see the boat, floating in the sky. Shaped as the sails travel through the sea. Brown chocolate texture, could it really be edible to eat?
Big blocks and little one, too, it’s Legoland. Fun for the family. Looks like, made of wood. Can it be true?
Shiny, bright chest drawers. Plenty of space for our clothes. Oh, yes. I like this.
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In my master bedroom is my favourite bed. It’s made of mahogany wood, I think. Solid as can be. Still holding on and comfortable to sleep, even though, it’s over a decade. That’s a good quality thing. Making sleep a pleasant, resting place. So tempting, don’t feel like getting out of bed. This is the furniture, I would recommend for every home.
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I am a Boat, travelling from one country to another. I like to carry people and objects. It makes me feel happy to see such beautiful faces and smiles, too. My days would be very boring without all people’s attention, curiosity and wonderful words.
Shahanaz
Lego Brick.
That rather enlarged Lego piece was very appealing to me. Though you wouldn’t ever use a lego piece for decorative purposes. But now, that’s made out of wood, it looks very much like an interior decorative piece you could place in a rather big living room. Also it has plenty of space to put other things on it eg putting a plant on it. Or one of those small trees, to reflect the wood nature. I believe they would fit in really well.
Nishi
I was amazed by the wood suitcase. The texture is nice so sharp and soft. The details very fine. Lots of work went into making matchboxes. Such small things. Everybody and all houses use them.
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Wooden sieve to clear the wheat. I will pass this on to my son.
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I am open to put things in or take out. I am picked up a lot. Going to different places I travel a lot. Hot weather cold weather I see it all. I am not in one place I get to go to places with someone who cares for me.
Gema
Wood is my favourite medium my dad was a carpenter. I feel quite emotional a wave of different emotions pride, sadness, interest, love!
The tools are beautiful. I have some of my own stamped with dad’s initials. But I was drawn to a more modern piece.
A mixture of old and new.
A very perfect square in proportion and neat however in side a secret harping back to times of old filled with pieces of moulding, small intricate pieces all joined together to form one piece. Something that would be on the outside is on the inside. And then another secret treasure a camera.
This filled my heart with joy and excitement. Then I see the picture we have gone full circle the place where the wood is made has been photographed by the camera.
It’s my dad’s place! He told me stories many stories of how he lived and played by the river Lea. I see the boats the towpath the trees. A familiar sight a place I know well. But here it looks like my dad’s place. It’s where he played, swimming in the water running through the grass, making slingshots from the rubber in the tyre pile. He grew up there in the middle of the home of wood.
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Wood shavings
Nature in action
Pure, clean and fresh
I watch the shavings
Fall to the floor
Rolling out of the plane
Making patterns
Dancing, playing, curling
Fresh wood, the smell of pine
Familiar, clean, beautiful
I know wood
It’s mine
I love wood
It’s kind
As the pieces dance to the floor
I breathe in the purity of nature
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Ha look at me! I’m here pick me up take me away! Open me what’s inside! Go on click the fastenings hear the creak of the hinges. I’m familiar, you know me…but do you! Ha I’m wooden have you seen a wooden one before I bet you haven’t I’m usually plastic, cloth and metal! This time I’m wood. Pick me up, go on take me out, you know you want to! See the grains of the wood like ripples in a pool of water travelling around the knot from a tree branch. But Ha look again look look, I’m not what you think! I’m not what you first thought! I’m different! I have a trick up my sleeve! I have a secret! Ha first impressions are deceiving. Well I think I’ll stay here for now. Maybe I’ll travel another day!
Annette
wooden ships, oceans, exploration, waves on water – grain, light + dark – steering – string – letter ‘M’, A Mark in time, the fishing smack, triangle – flimsy floating, Thames Barge, matchstick poles, silting up the river, wood walls wood river, wood sails.
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the old Joanna, piano, in the front room – ivory keys, a box, heavy, veneered – tinkering and the keys, my mothers, ‘Play it Mark, Play it’ / a huge smile broke over her face in this poor space – Middle ‘C’ out of tune, songs written, ‘my sister + I’ my piano – boogie woogie, my father’s tall long legged trousers – crossing arms + legs – smiling – fur elise – Robin’s lessons, jazz, joy + tears – practice, practice, perform + storm out – tears before bedtime, slam the lid – deconstruct + see the inside / metal rods – + felt dampers – angels + demons, music – if it be the food of love – the food of memory – key to the past + feelings – feelings flooding everything is taken, lost dispersed – but the music remains in the box.
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The piano – you open my lid – I don’t know what your fingers will say – how will you touch me – will you stroke me – or bang me, you mark me with sticky fingers – will I make you laugh, or make you cry – when you run your hands down my keys all of those notes all 8 octaves, how will you decide what to put together – which note will sit next to which / will you let me bring you joy or sorrow, will I bring horrid discord – or soothe you to sleep – lull you lullaby you –
This blog will follow the research of Bow Arts’ Raw Materials Heritage Lottery Funded project looking at the industrial heritage of the River Lea Valley. We begin our journey looking at the material WOOD and its effect on industry from timber yards to the furniture trade. Follow our team of researchers – a group of 10 local volunteers on a journey of discovery as they unearth objects from their visits to archive and museum collections. This group of local residents, resident artist Silke Detmmers and me, Karen the Project Manager make up the steering group. We will write about our research and experiences as the story of the wood industry unfolds.
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Image Courtesy of London Borough of Newham Archives
Telling the stories of the areas that line the riverbanks – including Hackney Wick, Walthamstow and the now iconic Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – Raw Materials will create a legacy for east London’s industrial history, including a map, walking and river tours and an exhibition of unearthed objects in the Nunnery Gallery in Spring 2017.
Foundation for FutureLondon, the charity created to help realise the ambitions for the cultural and education district in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, are also supporting the project through a grant that will ensure the digital legacy of the project for generations to come. The project has also had tremendous local support, including the Victoria and Albert museum – who will be joining the Cultural and Education District in 2021 – The Geffrye Museum, Stratford’s Building and Crafts College and local boroughs’ archive collections, including Tower Hamlets, Newham, Hackney and Haringey.
Educational arts charity Bow Arts has been working with the east London community and supporting artists through affordable workspace since 1995. The Nunnery Gallery is their not-for-profit, free and public space, presenting a programme of east London and heritage driven events and exhibitions. This grant support, together with expertise from project partners, will enable their most ambitious and far-reaching heritage driven exhibition to date. Press Release: 2 September 2016
Raw Materials will work directly with the community through a steering group who will lead the project’s research, while students from Stratford’s Buildings and Crafts College will incorporate the project’s research into their furniture making course. There will also be an exciting programme of events, workshops and area tours, providing multiple opportunities for communities old and new to engage with an important part of London’s heritage.
Commenting on the award, Sophie Hill, Nunnery Gallery Director, said:
“We are thrilled to be awarded this grant. Part of the Nunnery Gallery’s mission is to explore east London’s heritage through engagement with our local audience. This project is an invaluable opportunity to marry the extensive redevelopment that came with London 2012 to east London’s rich and important past, ensuring new and old communities share in the history that shaped this iconic area. We’re incredibly grateful to HLF, FFL and all our project partners for supporting the project”.
