An ELIZABETHAN INHERITANCE by
collection of sixteenth and seventeenth century textile furnishings. That so much should have survived in such good condition is little short of miraculous, and is due in part to the formidable Countess of Shrewsbury, better known as Bess of Hardwick, who built the house in the 1590s, and in her will instructed her heirs to '[sic] have speciall care and regard to p'serve the same from all manner of wett, mothe and other hurte or spoyle thereof'. In this lavishly illustrated and authoritative introduction to the collection, Santina Levey places the textiles in their day-to-day context. Using account books and other archival material, she describes the origins of the different types of furnishing, whether bought ready-made or put together and decorated by embroiderers. Inventories, letters, and personal reminiscences are used to chart the later history of the house and the inevitable alterations that four hundred years of use wrought on the original furnishings. With its glossary and bibliography, the book is an invaluable source of information for anyone interested in learning how Bess's 'Bedding hangings and other furniture of household stuffe [sic]' were created and how some survived the centuries.
Santina M. Levey, FSA, is former Keeper of the Department of Textiles and Dress at the Victoria & Albert Museum. She first visited Hardwick in 1967 when the textiles were in the charge of the museum, and has been fascinated by them ever since. She has also written the first ever catalogue of The Embroideries at Hardwick Hall: A Catalogue (National Trust, 2007) and worked on Of houshold stuff - The 1601 Inventories of Bess of Hardwick (National Trust, 2001).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780707804132 |
| ISBN 10 | 0707804132 |
| Title | An ELIZABETHAN INHERITANCE |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | National Trust |
| Year published | 2009-01-01 |
| Number of pages | 112 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |