Honiton Lace

After it was made fashionable by royalty in the 16th century people began to copy the designs and publish books of patterns. Lace makers then used the patterns to make what became Honiton lace. There has always been a big demand for this beautiful lace. The aristocracy follows royalty so when King Charles started to wear lace on his clothes so did his courtiers.

Honiton lace is very fine and was made by a team effort. Individual lace makers would make the flower motifs or other natural designs, then the pieces called 'sprigs' would be stitched together to make larger pieces. The large pieces were then sold.

The lace is made using pairs of slender pointed bobbins unique to Honiton Lace. The lace maker would prick out a design on parchment which was then pinned onto their lace pillow. A small round firm pillow stuffed with oat straw or sawdust. Using the pins to support the design they then plaited and wove the threads from the bobbins to make motifs.

In the beginning they made geometric motifs but after a while it got boring to continually make the same shapes so they began to make leaves and flowers. They stitched these on to the net background to make the familiar designs that we know today and that are instantly recognisable.

These beautifully crafted pieces were placed on handkerchief edges, shawls, tablecloths and bedspreads. Then, as now, if you could afford it you could commission your own unique pieces of fine lace.

Although it's called Honiton lace most of it was made in the surrounding villages. It was then collected and put on the stagecoach at Honiton before being sent to the London merchants and fashion houses. The most famous of the villages was Branscombe, (more recently notorious in 2007 for the wreck of the Napoli).

Branscombe lace is a needle lace. In broad terms it's made by weaving a design using a needle and single thread in-between a design of machine made tape. The design is made by sewing a woven tape on the pattern and is in filled by needle lace stitches . Traditionally there were 14 different stitches used, and it has a distinctive picot edge. It's quicker to make than the bobbin lace.

When Queen Victoria married Prince Albert on 10th February 1840 the original design for her wedding dress used Brussels lace for the veil but the Queen insisted that her dress should have English lace. An order was sent to Tuckers of Branscombe, who were the largest employers of lace makers at that time.

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria had their first child, Vicky, later that same year and the young Princess Royal was christened in 1841 wearing a robe trimmed with Honiton lace. This robe was used for many years by subsequent generations of the royal family until it became too fragile to use. The family has occasionally bought lace for special garments ever since and in 1981 Diana Princess of Wales had some on her wedding dress.

It is estimated that during the late 18th and early 19th centuries half of the population of the East Devon villages was involved in the production of lace. However, like many other forms of textiles it was a victim of the powered looms and has now been relegated to evening classes and craft shows.

The Allhallows Museum in Honiton holds a huge collection of Honiton lace, more than likely the largest collection in a single place in the whole world. If you are interested in the lace making industry of East Devon then I can recommend a visit to the Honiton museum to learn more about the history of Honiton lace and see wonderful examples of the exquisite delicacy of this most beautiful of textiles.

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