Honiton Bobbin Lace History

THE lace industry of Honiton is supposed to have been founded by Flemish refugees escaping from the Alva persecutions (1568-77), and names of undoubted Flemish origin occur at Honiton. An early reference to lace-making is to be found in 1577 in Hellowes' "Familiar Epistles of Sir Anthony of Gueuara," where he writes of seeing a woman " take her cushion for bone-lace or her rock to spinne."  Shortly before 1620 a complaint was made by the London tradesmen of the influx of refugee artisans " who keep their mysteries to themselves, which hath made them bold of late to device engines for working lace, and such wherein one man doth more than seven Englishmen can do," which would seem to point not only to the national jealousy of the industrious immigrant but to the introduction of bobbin lace, which is more rapidly worked than needlepoint. The Honiton bone-lace manufacture, however, is already mentioned in 1620 by Westcott, and the often quoted inscription upon the tombstone of James Rodgein Honiton churchyard proves that the industry was well established in James I.'s reign.

This was in the reign of William and Mary when Honiton lace was at its very best, but the quality of the thread has always been one of the weak points of English lace. No first-class flax thread has ever been spun in this country, and although that imported from Flanders into Devonshire was extremely costly it seems to have been inferior to that actually used for Flemish laces of the highest grade. The fine Honiton laces of the Brussels type disappeared in the first quarter of the eighteenth century, and from that date up to about 1800 the history of the industry is a blank.

 

This is the lace made in the 19th century that made Honiton famous: It was the favourite of Queen Victoria, whose coronation gown was made of Honiton. The queen was so impressed by the quality of the works that she commissioned a second piece as the christening robe of her eldest son, later to be king Edward VII. There is no proof of any lace making at Honiton as lace was made by individal workers who lived in the surrounding villages. The mos famous one were Branscombe, Axminster,Beer, Ottery St Mary, Seaton and Sidmouth..Each area developed a distinctive style.

Honiton Bobbin lace may be divided into three branches, Honiton, Honiton appliqué, and raised honiton.

Old Honiton Scarf in "raised" work and Appliqué

 

Honiton AppliquE

The oldest examples of this lace have patterns of tolerably graceful naturalistic sprays of flowers, worked on the pillow and applied to a net ground, at first bobbin-made, but afterwards machine-woven ; but very shortly after this imitation ground was adopted a marked deterioration in the patterns set in. Never superlatively good, they became debased to an extraordinary degree as time went on, until they were nothing more than a confusion of meaningless and indescribable blobs, known to their workers by such appropriate names as frying-pans, bullocks' hearts, turkey-tails, and the like, interspersed with objects resembling caterpillars at frequent intervals. In 1845 or thereabouts the turkey-tails, frying-pans and the rest of the strange devices began to be made of a bobbin-made tape with brides, sometimes picots, connecting the sections of the pattern in lieu of the net foundation. These brides were generally made on the pillow, but occasionally were worked in with the needle. The best examples of this class of Honiton lace have certain portions, such as the petals of flowers, in relief and partly detached from the ground, a peculiarity which also distinguishes some of the earlier specimens of the Duchesse tape-lace of Brussels,. which indeed resembles that of Honiton in other respects.

Raised Honiton:

The raised work is the distinguishing mark of Honiton. In no other English lace is it introduced, and the value of a piece is estimated according to the raised work in it.

The lace obtains its name from the raised cord bordering parts of the design, this cord being unlike any other, as it is made on the pillow by the worker as she proceeds, and thereby serves a double purpose: enriching the lace and making the work easier. The worker can by means of this cord proceed from one part of the design to another where she would otherwise be obliged to cut off the bobbins and restart.

The Honiton pillows run rather smaller than the Buckinghamshire ones, and do not have the numberless starched coverings—only three pill cloths over the top, and another each side of the lace in progress; two pieces of horn called sliders go between to take the weight of the bobbins from dragging the stitches in progress ; a small square pin cushion is on one side, and stuck into the pillow, the " needlepin," a large sewing needle in a wooden handle used for picking up loops. The bobbins are of neatly turned boxwood, small and light. The trade of lace-making remained for several generations in some families .

 

 

People interested by Honiton lace schould visit the Alhalows Museum in Honiton.

 

 

 

 

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