01522 694308 info@doddingtonhall.com
Explore our Gardens in Spring with Head Gardener Jon on 24 March
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01522 694308 info@doddingtonhall.com |
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Explore our Gardens in Spring with Head Gardener Jon on 24 March |
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Founded in 2006, the Doddington Hall Conservation Charity (numbered 1114539) aims to preserve and enhance the natural and historical environment of the Doddington Hall Estate for the greater enjoyment and education of the thousands of visitors to the Hall each year. The Doddington Conservation Charity’s first project is to raise funds to save two sets of late seventeenth century Flemish tapestries that have hung at Doddington Hall since the 1760s. The tapestries depict ‘Scenes from Rural Life’ and ‘The Trojan Wars’. The owners of the Hall have given the tapestries to the Charity although they will remain at Doddington Hall in perpetuity. In the 1760s Sir John Delaval undertook a major remodeling of the house. As part of this scheme he obtained the tapestries (already nearly 100 years old) and nailed them to the walls of the Holly and Yellow bedrooms, sometimes cutting them ruthlessly to fit. By this date, tapestry-lined rooms were completely out of fashion; while John Delaval had a fashionably up to date house in London, it seems that he wanted to create an antiquarian look at Doddington, itself already over 150 years old. The survival of these early antiquarian decorative schemes is of great interest and value, and their conservation a matter of pressing urgency. Centuries of dirt, particularly from coal fires, has impregnated the tapestries with corrosive and abrasive particles which cause enormous damage within the weave of the fabric. In addition, sunlight has faded and de-natured the silks and wool, weakening the tapestries further. Coal fires have now been banished and UV filters fitted to help control sunlight. Nevertheless, until the dirt of centuries is removed and the damage is repaired, the tapestries will continue to deteriorate. As you might imagine, conservation work on these delicate, antique textiles is highly specialised and costly. It is estimated that the whole process of taking down, cleaning and conserving the tapestries and then returning them to stabilised wall surfaces will cost in the region of £400,000. The Charity is committed to raising this funding in order to save the Doddington Tapestries for the benefit of future generations. Doddington Hall is a leading cultural attraction with a strong local profile and active links with a variety of audiences. The conservation of the tapestries will give a powerful opportunity to demonstrate the meaning and value of heritage through ‘Conservation In Action’ to schools, local colleges and general and special-interest visitors of all abilities. To learn more about the Doddington Conservation Charity, please contact Claire Birch at the Estate Office on 01522 694 308 or email info@doddingtonhall.com
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