National Trust's longest-running conservation work on Derbyshire tapestries finally complete
Watch the set of 13 Gideon tapestries in Hardwick Hall get restored
It's taken a mammoth 24-year effort, but the National Trust has finally finished the restoration of a set of 16th-century tapestries at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.
Thirteen Gideon tapestries were restored by hand after cleaning and hand-stitching the tapestry sets, which are around six metres high and more than seventy metres in length.
The tapestries tell the story of Gideon, one of the twelve judges to appear in the Old Testament Book of Judges, who leads an army to save his people from the Midianites.
The tapestries belonged to Bess of Hardwick, one of the richest women of her time and a friend of Queen Elizabeth I.
Liz Waring, Property Curator for National Trust Hardwick Hall said:
“We are delighted that the 13th and final tapestry has returned, taking its rightful place alongside the others, and reuniting the set for the first time in over two-decades.
"Visitors will now be able to enjoy the tapestries just as Bess intended".
When were The Gideon tapestries made ?
They were woven around 1578 in the Flemish region of Oudenaarde for the Lord Chancellor Sir Christopher Hatton, for the Long Gallery at Holdenby House in Northamptonshire.
After Hatton’s death, the tapestries were sold to Bess of Hardwick for the-then huge sum of £326 15s 9d.
They were the biggest and most expensive single purchase she made for the house.
She covered Sir Christopher’s arms, which had been woven into the tapestries, with her own, made from painted wool.
The National Trust’s Senior National Curator Emma Slocombe said:
“These astonishing tapestries have been in the Long Gallery since it was first decorated at the end of the 16th century.
"Extraordinarily, that’s where they remain. Bess collected them and unlike many tapestries they’ve never been moved to another home, dispersed or cut up.
“Everything at Hardwick is pre-eminent and these tapestries are unique, an ambitious statement at the heart of an architectural masterpiece".
"As one of the richest women in England, when she planned her decorative schemes, she was thinking about what they could convey about her and her lineage.
"The Gideon tapestries were designed to be seen, as well as enjoyed privately.”
How long did the conservation take?
The conservation of each Gideon tapestry has taken over two years to complete.
Like the tapestries before it, the 13th was thoroughly vacuum-cleaned to remove loose fibres, soiling, dust and soot, and then documented in detail before being sent to Belgium for specialist wet cleaning.
National Trust conservators used specialist conservation stitching – with hand-dyed yarns – to repair damaged areas, improve the appearance of 20th century reweaves, and strengthen the structure of the tapestry.
Its three sections were then reconstructed and lined to prevent dust penetrating the back.
In total the conservation stitching, lining and reconstruction took 5,470 hours to complete.