This interesting embroidery does not record history; It is history
The photo shows you the content and the size of the embroidery.
The Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth are looking at it. You will see a colour photo later.
Queen Mary’s Carpet is included here because, timewise, it is the next embroidery of note to be stitched after the Bayeux Tapestry. Before you tell me that there are other large embroideries created in the intervening centuries please note that these are ecclesiastical embroideries such as the Syon Cope, other copes and Altar Frontals. This was the glorious age of Opus Anglicanan and that is another subject. Also not included here are the Elizabethan tablecloths and bed hangings. Though all are amazing, we will never reach our destination if I sidetrack to everything larger than a pillowcase. I will admit to being category selective but I have found no large domestic or historical embroideries until World War II and subsequent years.
Queen Mary was the mother of King George VI and grandmother to our present Queen Elizabeth. She lived through two world wars supporting her husband and the nation through the first war and her son, his family and the nation through the second.
Queen Mary moved out of London to the western part of England for the duration of the second war. She stayed at the home of relatives and stitched the war away. At the end of the war, Britain had an enormous monetary debt to the USA. To raise money to help pay off the debt, Queen Mary donated her completed embroidery to be auctioned.
I believe that the 12 panels in the carpet were all designed to be firescreens. Their size would seem to be appropriate for this. They are stitched in gros point (large petit point) on canvas. Queen Mary purchased her embroidery supplies at the Royal School of Needlework. My guess would be that the staff prepared the canvases and supplied the wool. Another guess would be that on completion, the staff blocked the pieces and joined them together to make the carpet. It would appear from photos, that Queen Mary stitched with the canvas loose in her hands and not on a frame. This would make blocking essential. Can you imagine wearing a formal hat to sit in the garden and stitch.
See more photos in the blog entry on Hands Across the Sea Samplers.
One afternoon, while I was a student at RSN, we were called to come quickly and be totally quiet. Queen Mary had been visiting the store on the ground floor. We hung over the balcony railing overlooking the front entrance hall. Queen Mary walked slowly across the hall to the front door. She was wearing her trademark maroon coat and formal hat and was using a cane, or perhaps it was a long umbrella. The staff were standing around the hall with their backs pressed firmly to the wall thus leaving her lots of space. Her accompanying ‘lady’ was several paces behind her. She said something that I could not hear or do not remember. It struck me forcefully how lonely it was to be in her situation. Had it been any one of us, we would have been chatting about what we had seen, our purchase, our plans and would be looking forward to a cup of tea. None of that was available to her except, perhaps, the tea.
It is said that Queen Mary stitched the designs, and that her ladies stitched the backgrounds. I have also heard that she stitched both herself. Either way, one panel would have been a lot of work; twelve panels overwhelms my mind. The fact that she donated all her work for auction to help pay the National Debt was wonderful. The debt was not paid off until the 1990s.
Bravo for Queen Mary.
What is a firescreen you ask? Before the days of central heating, houses were warmed by coal burning fireplaces. When not in use during the morning hours, or warmer weather, the fireplaces were not a pretty sight. An ornamental piece was placed in front of the empty fireplace and the lady of the house made sure that it enhanced her living room. The size of each of the twelve panels in the carpet would have been approximately 26” x 20” which would be an appropriate size for a firescreen. The completed embroidery was mounted onto a piece of sturdy wood and framed. Feet, set at right angles to the frame, were mounted on the lower edge.
Not even a palace needs twelve firescreens. Combining them into a carpet was a great solution and helped pay off a piece of that monstrous debt.
There is a website that gives excellent information about Queen Mary and the carpet at the following: Hands Across the Sea Samplers. The information here is incomplete but adds to their record.
Are you wondering who purchased it and where it is right now? Nicole and Sandra’s website will answer those questions. It also includes good photos.
This is a brief video of Queen Mary.
If you would like read more on what it was like to be a student at RSN I have a few older blog posts.
I thoughly enjoy reading your blog posts Ann. Queen Mary has fascinated me since I was a little girl. Blame my Great Grandmother :). She was an amazing lady and the more I hear about her, makes the fascination stronger. Sandra from Hands Across the Sea Samplers.
Sandra, thank you for your comment.
I have always admired Queen Mary and really do appreciate that being a member of the Royal Family is not one that I would enjoy. Your blog post on her carpet contained a lot information and photos which I tried not to duplicate.
I hope that readers also read your information.
The carpet is yet another example of a historic embroidery being kept in storage. Like the Hastings embroideries, most people are not even aware of its existence.
All good wishes, Ann B.
What a lovely story Ann! Thank you so much for sharing your personal experiences and a lot of history.
Jessica, Good to hear from you and glad you liked the story. Queen Mary was an amazing old lady. I would describe her as ‘indominitable’ though I know that I have spelled that wrong.
Thank you Ann. I really enjoyed seeing the photograph with the then queen and princess Margaret gazing at the completed work. Pam
Hello Pam, Glad that you liked the article. I did not realize that the younger lady was Princess Margaret and thank you for the correction. You have told me that you saw the carpet when it was first made. I would love to hear any extra comment about this or information that you would like to share with those who have never seen it.
Thank you Ann for an interesting insight. I loved the photograph of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret looking at the carpet. Pam
My ma m has just passed away aged 86 and I have made a miraculous discovery when looking through her things.
I have found a baby quilt which was given to me on my birth in 1962 by my grandmother with a note which says it was made by the same person who made queen Mary’s quilt and also the cover used to protect and transport queen Mary’s carpet to America.
Her name was Amy Thomas and lived in aberaman which is in the South Wales valleys where I was born and raised.
I never knew the story but will treasure it forever.
Hello Jan,
Thank you for sharing. How exciting to have found the baby quilt and to learn that it is special. I had no idea that Queen Mary had a quilt. The carpet is in Ottawa I believe and has been on display but not recently. Yes, it would have had to have protection for being shipped from England to Canada.
If you have any pictures of Queen Mary’s quilt and a bit more detail, I am sure that readers would
like to hear about this.
All good wishes, Ann
A few years ago, a British womens magazine made kits of one of the squares from Queen Mary’s tapestry available to their readers. I never acquired one but later on I visited a friend who had actually worked that square and had it on the wall of her living room. I wonder if those kits are still available. Lovely article.
Hello Frances, The Queen Mary Carpet and the panels in it were all a long time ago. Queen Mary stitched them during
WWll and it was auctioned (Canada won) in the 50s 0r early 1960s. The kits must date from around the 1960s. They were designed by the Royal School of Needlework. I do not know which magazine would have had that offer. Am glad that your friend had one and obviously enjoyed it. You could try searching on ETSY and see if there is someone out there has acquired one from a stash clear out. I doubt that they would be available from a modern supplier.
Good luck and let me know if one surfaces. The threads in the kit will be rotten by now. Replace with new wool threads.
Thank you for writing, Ann B.
I have some embroidry done by Queen Mary and my mother in law. My Father in Law was accountant to the farming estates at Sandringham. They used to spend every summer at Samdringham, taking their son, My husband, with them. Mum died in 2001. Queen Mary taught my mother in law to embroider. I have a beautiful large oval framed embroidery of flowers, also four very small ones. A cross stitch and an embroidered clock.
Sandringham have records of these item with photos. We have letters from Samdringham about the work as Provenance. We are now getting old and feel it is time to sell them to thoes who would value them.
I have no idea what they are worth or how to go about getting them valued. If anyone has any ideas, we would be very pleased to hear from you.
Hello Katherine and Malcolm,
I was very glad to hear from you. You are performing a public service. Stitching Idyllic has been
inactive since Covid19 started. Your letter could get it started again which a wonderful .There
has been nothing to print and nobody seemed to mind. My husband was sick and he died and I
have been sick and limited to what I do. But 2024 is a new year and here we go. Ring some
bells.
I knew that Queen Mary stitched of course in that she used GROSPOINTE on canvas to stitch
the carpet that is in storage in Ottawa. I was not aware that she did other stitching which was
probably Crewel work and cross stitch which is likely what she taught your mother-in-law. I
hope she appreciated the opportunity and the experience. She would have been young then
anyway and unaware that she was making history.
I must say I would love to have photos of these items and to publish them on Stitching Idyllic
with a storyline from you on how you have them.
But what you are asking is how to sell them or preserve them. I do not think there is much of
market for selling such items. What will someone else do with them for instance other than
you have already done which was keep them very carefully.
What I suggest is that having got some publicity from Stitching Idyllic that you then donate
them to Ottawa where they will join the carpet. Or, donate them to the Victoria and Albert
Museum. Sandringham may have a storage place where they keep historical items such as
Queen Mary’s maroon hat and coat. The fact that these items are listed at Sandringham in
their provenance may mean that they have to stay there. Then the first thing you should do is
take your pieces into Sandringham and consult with the master of provenance. I don’t think
you’ll get a member of the royal family and I doubt that they would make any decisions for you.
I wonder if there are other pieces of embroidery out there that are also associated with Queen
Mary. Finding places to display embroidery is an ongoing problem. There are a good number
of Commemorative pieces around the country that lack a space for hanging and display. The
only one that people do flock to see is the Bayeux Tapestry and it is really old and has had a lot
of publicity. It had its bad times and was certainly not appreciated until very recently.
I hope that this will helpful in starting you on this journey of finding them a home. I really do
mean it when I say that I would like to publish pictures of these embroideries along with a
story line from you.
All good wishes,
Ann Bernard.
Hi, So sorry for the delay in a reply, Christmas and all them!!
Very sorry to hear of the loss of your husband. I really mean that, I have lived in constant
fear, for many years. Three times I have been told he will not make it. However he just bounces back. He is 82 in March, as is our 54th Wedding Anniversery.
Thank you very much for your reply, you gave me much food for thought. I do not want to sell them myself. But the children are not that interested. Our daughter lives in Australia.
However we do have some wonderful grandchildren. I will be asking them to be castodians.
We will be delighted for you to show them in the Stitching Idyllic.
My husband will help write the story. As mum got older the story changed somewhat, as her memory failed. However I think we can manage to put it together. Most happened before the war, but the friendship went on much longer. May I have and email to forward it to you.
Kindest regards Katherine Bell