Working Arras and Arras Workers: Conservation in the Great Wardrobe under Elizabeth I

Abstract

The article examines the arrangements for the ongoing care of the royal tapestries under Queen Elizabeth, based on the continuous series of accounts for the arras men found in the National Archives LC 9, AO 3 and E 351. Taken on 'at need', the men worked a variable number of days per year in the Great Wardrobe, south of St Paul's. The majority were émigré tapestry weavers resident in London, though a gradually increasing number of Englishmen entered service. An attempt is made to identify tapestries repaired or sent to an external firm for 'refreshing' and 'cleansing'. worked as a freelance researcher after completing a doctorate at Oxford. Always fascinated by puzzles from the past, she came to tapestry after seeing the tapestry map of Warwickshire, once the property of Ralph Sheldon. She has since investigated, and published, the story behind their weaving, and looked at the reality of the family's attempt to introduce tapestry weaving into sixteenth-century Warwickshire.

Review of periodical literature published in 2012

“…The Sheldons established the workshops to provide this elite product. Turner ( Textile History ) also writes about tapestries. She considers the ongoing care of the royal tapestries belonging to Elizabeth I.…”

“…The tapestries were also sent to external firms for cleaning or repairs. Turner has included data regarding the number of days worked; the number of arras workers; the wages bill both including and excluding clerks' wages; the cost of materials; and the total expenditure. These figures are provided for each year from 1559 to 1603.…”