This handmade lace collar includes Honiton-style motifs joined with bobbin-made brides. Honiton lace is characterised by scrollwork and botanical motifs. Initially called 'bone' lace due to the bobbins being made from bone, it was developed in the small village of Honiton in Devon. It was thought to be brought from the Netherlands by Dutch refugees in the mid-16th century after the Dutch revolt. It grew in popularity after Queen Victoria chose this style of lace for her wedding dress and veil for her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840. It was again chosen for the royal christening gown which is still in use today. Brides, or bars, are the narrow connections between lace motifs that do not have a mesh background. They are ornamented in line with each individual lace technique, in this case with tiny picots at irregular intervals along the bar. Handmade items were highly sought after for their imperfections and irregularities as opposed to machine-made items which were repetitive in their perfection.This collar is part of a 94 piece collection of small lace items accumulated by four generations of Amess women, starting with Janet Amess in the 1850s. Hand-made individual bobbin made lace motifs hand sewn together with bobbin made brides. Cream colouredlace, churchill island, janet amess lace collection, bobbin lace, lace collar, amess

This is a broad (6.5cm) machine made lace with an undulating garland pattern for a length of 93cm. Lace was always an expensive luxury item and was time consuming in its manufacture. With the advent of machine made net in 1809 and the eventual development of more detailed machine made lace, which by 1870 could imitate all types of handmade lace, it could be made much more quickly and in larger quantities and was therefore cheaper and more accessible to everyone. This piece resembles a fine needlepoint lace such as Alençon. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929 Broad machine made lace trim with wavy patternchurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, trim

A machine made lace trim with a straight upper edge, the pattern being a repetition of spiders and fans this 133cm length is quite wide and luxurious at 6.7cm width. Although machine made, it is a fine copy of a handmade torchon bobbin lace, although slightly wider than the traditional torchon..The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by four generations of Amess women, see above. machine made lace trim, straight upper edge, picots along bottom edgechurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, trim

This is a machine made lace trim which as been made to look handmade. It measures 4.6cm by 253cm and is quite an unusual design which gives the fabric of the lace a slight elasticity. It was most likely used as a trim for an undergarment such as a petticoat, pantaloons or for a comfortable nightgown. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929 The names of the Amess women who owned the lace are: Jane Amess (nee Straughan) – donor Unity’s great grandmother (pet name Janet, but not used as it will confuse with Unity’s mother). Jane was the wife of Samuel Amess, first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. Frances Amess (nee Turnbull) – grandmother, married Robert Lisle Straughan Amess, 4th child of Samuel and Jane Janet Jickell (nee Amess) – mother, 2nd of two children of Robert and Francis, married James Jickell Unity Mary Bright (nee Jickell) was the donor, 2nd of two children of Robert and Francis. machine made lace trim made to look hand made. Slight elasticity.churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

This elegant lace is machine made with a spotted background above a floral pattern. It is reminiscent of a fine needlepoint lace. This type of lace remained popular into the 20th century being used mainly to decorate women’s clothing. Due to its open appearance it was used to embellish and be worn over clothing of a different colour.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929Machine made lace with spotted and floral patternchurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

This elegant lace is machine made with a spotted background above a floral pattern. It is reminiscent of a fine needlepoint lace. This type of lace remained popular into the 20th century being used mainly to decorate women’s clothing. Due to its open appearance it was used to embellish and be worn over clothing of a different colour.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929machine made lace spotted and floral pattern same as 0005.1churchill island, lace, janet amess, lace collection

Torchon lace, also known as ‘beggars’ lace is one of the simplest forms of bobbin lace. This lace trim length (3cm x 65cm) which was hand made, is off-white in colour. The thread used is thicker than that used on the finer needlepoint laces and was originally worked in linen although cotton was also used. Due to its strength and softness it was favoured to be used as a trim on undergarments.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929length of lace trim, off-white colour; hand-made Torchon (duster) lace; used on underwearchurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, trim

A machine made length of lace trim which is off-white in colour, the delicate design features a six-petalled flower with a zigzag motif and a scalloped picot edge. Close inspection reveals subtle picots in the square net to achieve shading. One can imagine how feminine a woman would feel with this lace adorning her garments, possibly at the neck and cuffs of an afternoon dress or as an edging on a petticoat or nightgown. By the mid 19th century, machine made lace had improved so much that it was used by the couture houses on fashionable garments and the handmade lace makers countered by broadening the scope of their lace and marketing it as ‘real’ lace. By the end of the 19th century machines could make perfect copies of any handmade lace.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929machine made off-white length of lace trim with zig-zag and flower motif and scalloped picot edge.churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess

This is a length of machine made lace trim (7.6 x 293cm). The body of the lace having no outline on the floral part is Valenciennes in style but with the hexagonal net and outline on the square pattern is Mechlin in nature. It is a fine example of a machine made lace which was very popular and sought after in the late 19th century as a preferred summer lace at the royal courts of Europe.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929Length of lace trim with two straight selvage edges, floral pattern interspersed with squares. Machine madechurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

Here we have a generous length of a bobbin lace (2.5 x 298cm). Half of the lace next to the selvedge is diamond shaped net with spiders interspersed at regular intervals while the top edge alternates between crosses and a segmented citrus design reminiscent of Valenciennes lace. It was finished with a delicate scalloped edge. This style of lace was never used for fashionable clothing but was suitable for bed linen, lingerie and the fichu (the outer scarf worn over a woman’s shoulders)The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929length of white lace, Half pattern is net, other half is alternate four petal flowers and six petal flowers. Scalloped edge.churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, trim

Another example of a machine made lace, this delicate white lace trim with a beautiful undulating pattern on a diamond net background and richly scalloped edge. At 2.4cm in width it is quite a narrow and dainty lace and would have been suitable for a baby’s or a child’s garment or for enhancing nightwear, lingerie or bed linen.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929Length white lace trim with selvaged and scalloped edge with picots at outer edge. Undulating pattern on net ground. Machine made.churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

This is a very dense machine made lace reminiscent of a Valenciennes style. The folk art style roses and interconnecting six petal flowers are set into quite a dense net ground. The trim appears to have been made on a Pusher machine - although it was only able to make the lace pattern and the net. Any outline had to be filled in later by hand using an embroidering machine. Nottingham stopped making Pusher lace probably in the early 20th century but it continued to be made in France. The Pusher machine was a variation on John Heathcoat’s Bobbinet machine developed by Samuel Clark and James Mart in 1812. It takes its name from the rods which pushed the carriages through the machine. The Jacquard apparatus was adapted to it in 1839. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by four generations of Amess women. section of lace trim, with very dense valenciennes pattern, small lowers and leaves interwoven with larger motifschurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess, machine

A broad and luxurious lace this length would be a beautiful trim on a lady’s gown. It appears to be a copy of a Carrickmacross Irish lace where - when handmade - the motifs are embroidered onto a muslin and net sandwich and the excess muslin is cut away. This 142.5cm length however is machine made and was very likely made on a Leavers machine which was another adaptation from John Heathcoat’s machine with the Jacquard patterning device being adapted to it in the 1830s. It was developed by John Levers in Nottingham but the ‘a’ was added to the name for ease of pronunciation in France. The Leavers machine is one of the most versatile of all machines for making patterned lace and Leavers lace was Nottingham’s chief lace product until recently.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929Length of lace trim with scalloped edge and straight selvage edge, floral design on net ground. Machine madechurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

At 9cm in width this delicately patterned length of light lace trim seems ideally suited to trimming a baby’s christening gown or a cradle. This embroidered style of lace was rarely used on fashionable garments but more widely used on bed linen and undergarments and judging by the creases in the lace, it is possibly made of silk which would have made it very expensive. There were two types of embroidery machines, the earliest was the Hand Embroidery machine invented by Joshua Heilman in France in 1828. It makes a perfect copy of hand embroidery except that all of the pattern repeats are exactly the same. The second type and the most likely to have been used for this piece is the Schiffli Embroidery machine Invented by Isaac Groebli in 1865 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The first machines were relatively small and could be operated by a couple of people, mostly women but by the beginning of the 21st century they could be up to 18 metres in length and work with over a thousand needles. Most machine embroidered laces are made using the Schiffli machine and Nottingham in England, Plauen in Germany and St. Gallen in Switzerland still produce a great deal of embroidered lace.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929Length of wide lace trim with dots on net ground and selvage edge, other edge complex scallop. Machine madechurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

These pieces replicate bobbin lace as can be seen by the fine knots in the diamond shaped net ground and the gimp or outline has been given the appearance of being tamboured in a fine chain stitch. These cotton lace pieces have been cut from a larger piece which by shape and size appear to have been intended for a collar. They are machine made and very likely were woven on a Leavers machine with the chain stitch outline being added by a Bonnaz/Cornely machine. The Leavers machine, once coupled with the French Jacquard machine in the late 1830s, made excellent copies of any handmade lace which could be reproduced much more cheaply and much faster than the time consuming handmade laces. The Jacquard machine was invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard and was first demonstrated in 1801. It worked by threading a series of interlaced punched cards through the machine with each row of holes in the cards corresponding to a row in a textile design. The Jacquard loom influenced the future development of computer technology and its attachment to the Leavers net making machine opened the ability to recreate countless varieties of formerly handmade lace.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929Two triangles of lace cut from a larger piece, machine made, floral and leaf decorationchurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess

This is an example of machine made Torchon lace which is the simplest form of bobbin lace and is also known as Beggars lace; the Dutch call it Stropkant. The thread used is thicker than embroidered laces and was originally worked with linen thread but is now made of cotton. Due to it being relatively less expensive than other laces and its softness, Torchon lace was used mainly by the middle classes as an insert on nightcaps and nightgowns and as a trim on bed linen as well as undergarments. Torchon is usually the first type of lace that a lace maker learns, but since at least the earliest 20th century commercial quantities have been made by machine and were virtually indistinguishable from those that were handmade. This example would have been made on a Barmen machine which was developed in the 1890s in Germany from a braiding machine. Its bobbins imitate the movement of the bobbins of a handmade lace maker and it makes perfect copies of Torchon and the simpler hand-made laces. It can only make one width at a time and does not have the pattern potential of the Leavers machine.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929length of lace, machine made, geometric design with two selvaged edges, repeat motif of ovals surrounded by crosses.churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, torchon

This is a machine made lace made in the fashion of Mechlin lace - one of the best known Flemish laces. Original Mechlin lace is a bobbin lace, where the ground and the pattern are made with the same threads and the outline is picked out in fine silk. Close inspection of this lace section indicates that the net ground is hexagonal with two sides plaited and the other four are twisted. The Leavers machine was capable of producing this elegant section of lace trim. From 1841, this machine was developed to make the ground, the pattern and the outline at the same time. The working thread bobbins would be wound with a fine cotton or silk and the outline bobbins would be wound with a heavier linen thread or a heavier silk. It would be used as a delicate trim on light summer clothes, perhaps a blouse, a summery dress, to trim a parasol or perhaps to trim an elegant evening gown on which the colour of the gown would show through the fine lace.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was added to and refined over the course of three successive generations of women.Michelin lace - hexagonal net ground with two sides plaited and the other four are twisted. churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

This fine lace trim at 1.6cm width is quite narrow, the pattern is geometric in style with one side a selvedge and the other a gracefully scalloped picot edging. It appears to be made of cotton although it could be silk, and ostensibly looks to be a Cluny lace style of bobbin lace which is heavily plaited and worked in one continuous piece. Cluny lace is geometric in pattern often with thin radiating wheat ears. This machine made lace would have been made on a Barmen machine which was developed in Germany in the 1890s and was capable of making perfect copies of Torchon and other simple bobbin laces such as Cluny. The machine developed from a braiding machine and uses bobbins which imitate the hand movement of hand-made lace makers. This fine lace trim may adorn a child’s collar and cuffs or trim a finely pleated blouse. It may also trim a mob cap or a shawl.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was added to and refined over the course of three successive generations of women.machine made lace trim with selvage edge on one side and scalloped edge with picots, geometric interior churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess, cluny

This sample of lace trim is Torchon lace in the Cluny style with the geometric pattern and the classic wheat ears/leaves appearing between the filled ‘v’ shapes. At 5cm in width, it would be a beautiful trim or insert piece on bed linen and undergarments. It would certainly have been made on a Barmen machine. The Barmen lace machine was developed in Germany on the 1890s. Its bobbins imitated the movement of the bobbins of a handmade lace maker and it made perfect copies of Torchon and other similar bobbin laces. This style of bobbin lace was the simplest to make and therefore the cheapest lace to buy. In the Elizabethan era, the wearing of lace was reserved for the nobility and anyone of lesser standing than a knight who dared to wear lace would be publicly whipped. As the years passed, the restrictions lessened gradually and in the late Georgian and Victorian eras, ladies of the nobility sought to perform good deeds by teaching women and girls of the poorer classes to make lace and thus it became known as beggars lace. Bobbins were expensive and use was made of animal bones and even fish bones to perform as bobbins therefore another common name was bone lace. Many noble women entered a religious order and these nuns would also teach to skill to willing participants as well as making lace for clerical garments. Although the monarchy restricted the wearing of lace for some time, many royal figures in history did a great deal to popularise it. Two noteworthy examples were Queen Adelaide (1792-1849) and Queen Victoria (1819-1901).The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by three generations of Amess women - Jane, Janet and Unity. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island.machine made Torchon and Cluny lace trim with both edges similar, v shape design and 8 braid geometric design in centrechurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, trim, torchon, cluny

This is another machine lace made using a thicker crochet-like thread, quite possibly cotton judging by the texture. The geometric pattern has been made in the style of Torchon lace and it gives the appearance of softness and comfort. This lace is quite narrow (1.1cm) and was not made as an insertion lace but as a trim. It was most likely used as a trim on children’s underclothing and bed linen. It may have been used as a trim on a mob cap for a maid or a less senior member of the household. This machine made lace would have been made on a Barmen machine which was developed in Germany in the 1890s and was capable of making perfect copies of Torchon and other simple bobbin laces.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by three generations of Amess women - Jane, Janet and Unity. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island.Torchon machine lace, coarse crochet like thread. One fairly straight edge with picots. Other edge has clusters of elongated picots at even intervals. Geometric pattern insidechurchill island, lace, janet amess, lace collection, torchon

This beautiful piece has been hand embroidered with coloured thread onto a machine made net. The net would most likely have been made on a stocking frame or Heathcoat’s Bobbinet machine and the intricate handwork appears to be a mixture of needle run and tamboured embroidery. Needle run lace is simply outlined in thread and then filled in by darning and other stitches. Tamboured lace is made with a very fine metal or bone crochet hook making chain stitch with the net stretched out over a frame. Limerick lace from Ireland is just such a lace where the stitches used on the machine made net vary considerably. According to Pat Earnshaw, a British lace historian, there was one Limerick lace collar that used 47 different filling stitches. The lace industry in Limerick was started by Charles Walker in 1829 when he brought 20 girls from England to set up a lace making school. Many Irish women who learned the craft worked from home but Walker knew that he would get more consistent and cleaner work if he could oversee the work being done so he built a factory for the women. Limerick lace lost popularity after Walker died in 1842 but was revived in the late 1880s and continued to be made into the 20th century but never reached the heights of the Walker period. This delicate example is from the 1920s and was cut from a larger piece which was most likely attached to an item of sleek underwear. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by three generations of Amess women - Jane, Janet and Unity. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island.Machine made net with coloured hand embroidery. Cut from larger piecelace, churchill island, janet amess lace collection, amess, embroidery, tamboured lace, limerick lace

This is a length of Leavers machine made lace trim (7.6 x 42cm). The body of the lace having no outline on the floral part is Valenciennes in style but with the hexagonal net and outline on the square pattern is Mechlin in nature. It is a fine example of a machine made lace which was very popular and sought after in the late 19th century as a preferred summer lace at the royal courts of Europe.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was added to and refined over the course of three successive generations of women.Length of lace trim, with repeating floral and geometric designs. Shorter section, appears to have been cut from a longer length.lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess, churchill island

Here we have a delicate example of chemical lace which is 7.6cm x 48cm. This is an interesting method of lace making where the lace is embroidered onto a sacrificial fabric which has been treated (initially chemically treated) to dissolve in a chemical solution on completion without damaging the lace. The chemicals used were not environmentally friendly and consequently this method of lace making has developed to use water soluble base fabrics or fabrics which will disintegrate with the application of heat. A remnant of the sacrificial fabric can be seen on the top of this piece. Originally chemical lace was made on a home embroidery machine but is now also known as Schiffli Lace and made on a Schiffli machine. This machine was invented by Isaak Grobli in 1863 using the same principles as the newly invented sewing machine except that the bobbin of the sewing machine was replaced by a shuttle shaped like the hull of a sail boat, hence the name ‘schiffli’ which means ‘little boat’ in Swiss-German. The Schiffli machine uses two threads and makes a stitch similar to a closely spaced zigzag stitch on a domestic sewing machine. Over time the number of needles and shuttles increased until the present day when some machines can be up to 18 metres in length and use over a thousand needles. Previously the pattern was followed by hand using a pantograph arm where the operator followed the design pattern but the development of computer technology has meant that software designed to drive Schiffli machines can now create a wide variety of stitches and lace designs. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by three generations of Amess women - Jane, Janet and Unity (Bright - donor). Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island.Length of lace trimPackage contains note: FICCHU c1860/70 (hand made) [not associated with this item]churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, trim

A Jabot, from the French meaning ‘a bird’s crop’, is a decorative clothing item consisting of fabric or lace designed to fall from the throat suspended from or attached to a collar or neckband or simply pinned at the throat. Jabots made of lace were an essential male upper class fashion item in the baroque period but in the late 19th century a jabot would be a cambric or lace bib decorating women’s clothing and it would be held in place with a brooch or a sewn in neckband. This example with its exquisite chemical lace trim could possibly even be clerical in nature. Jabots continue to be worn to this day in the field of Law and in highest formal Scottish evening attire. The lace is embroidered onto a sacrificial fabric which has been treated (initially chemically treated) to dissolve in a chemical solution on completion without damaging the lace. The chemicals used were not environmentally friendly and consequently this method of lace making has developed to use water soluble base fabrics or fabrics which will disintegrate with the application of heat Originally chemical lace was made on a home embroidery machine but is now also known as Schiffli Lace and made on a Schiffli machine. This machine was invented by Isaak Grobli in 1863 using the same principles as the newly invented sewing machine except that the bobbin of the sewing machine was replaced by a shuttle shaped like the hull of a sail boat, hence the name ‘schiffli’ which means ‘little boat’ in Swiss-German. The Schiffli machine uses two threads and makes a stitch similar to a closely spaced zigzag stitch on a domestic sewing machine. Over time the number of needles and shuttles increased until the present day when some machines can be up to 18 metres in length and use over a thousand needles. Previously the pattern was followed by hand using a pantograph arm where the operator followed the design pattern but the development of computer technology has meant that software designed to drive Schiffli machines can now create a wide variety of stitches and lace designs.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was added to and refined over the course of three successive generations of women.Jabot with chemical lace trim.Package contains note: "FICHU c1860/70 (hand made)lace, janet amess lace collection, churchill island, insert, amess, jabot

This machine made net (76cm x 38) is trimmed on the edge with a tamboured design in the style of Limerick lace. Machines were so proficient in copying handmade lace that it is very difficult to tell if the trim is done by hand or by machine. Tambour lace was the earliest form of Limerick lace and was worked in chain stitch onto machine made net using a very fine crochet hook, so fine in fact that some practitioners used a sewing needle with the eye cut out and the pointed end inserted into a wooden handle.The lace industry in Limerick was started by Charles Walker in 1829 Many Irish women who learned the craft worked from home but Walker knew that he would get more consistent and cleaner work if he could oversee the work being done so he built a factory for the women. Limerick lace lost popularity after Walker died in 1842 but was revived in the late 1880s and continued to be made into the 20th century but never reached the heights of the Walker period. If this pattern is machine made it would have been made using a Bonnaz machine which was later called a Cornely machine. Antoine Bonnaz (1836 – 1915), a silk machine engineer, produced the first successful industrial chain stitch machine. His patent was finally acquired by Ercole Cornely in Paris who developed a hook shaped needle that could make a line of chain stitches. Initially these machines were only available in northern France but they were so popular that they were eventually exported to the rest of the world and are still being produced today. This lace edging is quite fine and would only be about a centimetre in width and so would be subtle in effect, perhaps to be used on undergarments or as a fichu for day wear.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was added to and refined over the course of three successive generations of women.Machine made net, trimmed with tamboured design in style of Limerick lace.Note in package "LIMERICK LACE TRIMMINGS"lace, janet amess lace collection, churchill island, amess

This is a machine made copy of a Brussels lace applique or Brussels Point border which has most likely been cut from a larger piece, perhaps a wedding veil or a net for a baby’s cradle. There are two main types under the Brussels lace heading, one is Brussels Pillow lace which is a bobbin lace and the other is Brussels Point lace which is needle run. Belgium or Flanders was one of the premium lace making centres in Europe for two reasons, one that the flax grown in the region was of a very high quality and secondly the highly skilled lace workers living in the area. The flax harvest and linen production was jealously guarded and along with neighbouring Holland which in the 16th century was joined to Belgium as Spanish Netherlands, there were many flat areas to lay out the linen for bleaching in the sun. The flax was spun into the finest linen thread in rooms kept damp to prevent the thread from becoming too brittle and the one ray of sunlight allowed was directed onto the thread. The quality of the linen made Brussels lace extremely popular for centuries and it kept pace with the changing fashions of Europe. Not all of the lace labelled as ‘Brussels’ comes from that area, the name has been given as a type rather than a source and there are many types of lace under that name. Because of the quality and the standard of the linen used, Belgian lace was one of the last types of lace to be imitated in the 19th century by mass production machinery. Because of the close chain stitch evident in this piece, a Cornelly machine may have been used to embroider this design onto machine made net.Churchill Island has a large lace collection, which was added to by three successive generations of the Amess family - Jane, Janet, and Unity. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. The examples of lace are notable for their variety, and provide respresentative examples of techniques from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Length of lace trim, with finely worked sprays of flowers intertwined with foliage and abstracted branches.Package with note "LIMERICK LACE TRIMMINGS"lace, janet amess lace collection, churchill island, amess, trim

At 11cm in width, this lavishly embroidered lace would have been used as a trim or an insertion piece for evening wear, perhaps as a trim on the bodice of an off the shoulder evening gown. It comprises two layers: a strong base possibly machine made and a fine top layer luxuriously embossed with sequins and bugle beads which was possibly done by hand. It appears to have been made using matte black silk which was known as grenadine and used on the Pusher machine which could only make the pattern and the net. The outline had to be put in by hand. Nottingham stopped making Pusher lace in the early 20th century but it continued to be made in France.Churchill Island has a large lace collection, which was added to by three successive generations of the Amess family - Jane, Janet, and Unity. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. The examples of lace are notable for their variety, and provide respresentative examples of techniques from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. length of black beaded trim with two layers: machine made lace with hand-stitched overlay of sequins and jet cylindrical beads in abstract designs.Packaged with note: "Black beaded trimming (hand beaded)".janet amess lace collection, churchill island, lace, sequined, amess, trim

This sample of lace trim is Torchon lace in the Cluny style with the geometric pattern and the classic wheat ears/leaves appearing between the filled ‘v’ shapes. At 5cm in width it would be a beautiful trim or insert piece on bed linen and undergarments. It would certainly have been made on a Barmen machine. The Barmen lace machine was developed in Germany on the 1890s. Its bobbins imitated the movement of the bobbins of a handmade lace maker and it made perfect copies of Torchon and other similar bobbin laces. This style of bobbin lace was the simplest to make and therefore the cheapest lace to buy. In the Elizabethan era the wearing of lace was reserved for the nobility and anyone of lesser standing than a knight who dared to wear lace would be publicly whipped. As the years passed the restrictions lessened gradually and in the late Georgian and Victorian eras ladies of the nobility sought to perform good deeds by teaching women and girls of the poorer classes to make lace and thus it became known as beggars lace. Bobbins were expensive and use was made of animal bones and even fish bones to perform as bobbins therefore another common name was bone lace. Many noble women entered a religious order and these nuns would also teach to skill to willing participants as well as making lace for clerical garments. Although the monarchy restricted the wearing of lace for some time, many royal figures in history did a great deal to popularize it. Two noteworthy examples were Queen Adelaide (1792-1849) and Queen Victoria.(1819-1901).The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was added to and refined over the course of three successive generations of women.Machine made Torchon lace in Cluny style, with geometric patterns and wheat design, probably on a Barman (Swiss) machine. janet amess lace collection, churchill island, lace, trim, amess, barman, machine

This lace front is another example of Pusher lace using matte black silk called grenadine. The head opening has yet to be cut out and the panel itself was most likely made for a specific garment possibly in a contrasting paler colour to show off the leafy pattern The Pusher machine is a variation of Heathcoat’s Bobbinet machine and was so called for the rods which pushed the carriages through the machine. There appears to be an outline on the leaves which would have had to be worked either by hand or by embroidery machine.Churchill Island has a large lace collection, which was added to by three successive generations of the Amess family - Jane, Janet, and Unity. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. The examples of lace are notable for their variety, and provide respresentative examples of techniques from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Rectangular section of lace with intricate leaf design and a matte circular section. Designs are reinforced with multiple layers of stitching.Packaged with note: "Black lace "Front" with neckline hole"churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, machine

This baby bonnet is made of strips or braids of machine made torchon lace crocheted together by hand and the bonnet is lined with silk fabric. There are crocheted rosettes in place which are placed to attach the ribbons. The thread used is possibly rayon which was used from 1915, but is very difficult to distinguish from silk. The Barmen machine would have been used to create the lace strips. It was developed from a braiding machine in the 1890s in Barmen which is now part of Wuppertal in Germany. This machine makes a near perfect copy of torchon lace which it creates in cylindrical form and by strategic removal of threads is flattened into the braid strip.Churchill Island has a large lace collection, which was added to by three successive generations of the Amess family - Jane, Janet, and Unity. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. The examples of lace are notable for their variety, and provide respresentative examples of techniques from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Strips of machine made torchon lace in a bonnet, lined with silk, and crocheted rosettes for attachments to two lengths of silk for ties.Packaged with note; "Hand crocheted silk lined baby's bonnet" crochet, churchill island, janet amess lace collection, baby, bonnet, amess, clothing