Zoom Rental | Restoring Fabric History: Humphries Weavings, UK
2025-02-06 - 2025-06-30 | Zoom Recording, Virtual, New York, NY, 10036, United States
State bed and bedroom at Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire ©National Trust Images James Dobson
Humphries Weaving is a distinguished British fabric manufacturer specializing in the recreation of important historical textiles, seamlessly blending traditional techniques with contemporary design innovations. With over 50 years of experience, the company has restored and refashioned period fabrics for Britain’s royal residences, prestigious historic houses, and National Trust properties both at home and abroad. From the 18th-century blue silk damask adorning the walls and furniture in Kedleston Hall’s State Rooms to the crimson bed drapes and coverlets on the state beds at Buscot Park and Sudbury Hall, Humphries Weaving’s recreations meticulously captures the essence of these historical periods. Honoring their rich legacy that once symbolized the wealth and status of homeowners during the 17th and 18th centuries. This exclusive Royal Oak presentation spotlights the designer’s creative process, from initial concept to the production of exquisite fabrics for interiors and ceremonial use, such as those for Orders of Chivalry. The designers will demonstrate how hundreds of hours can be invested into analyzing source samples and reconstructing designs using historical techniques, measurements, and tools. These intricate recreations, often requiring more than 14 distinct steps, result in fabrics that are both historically accurate and visually stunning. If you are passionate about the history of interiors or an aficionado of textile history, this presentation is not to be missed. Join Royal Oak as we look behind-the-scenes how this iconic British company preserves England’s heritage by honoring the past while innovating for the future.

Zoom | 100 Things to Wear: Fashion from the Collections of the National Trust
2025-11-04 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Webinar, Virtual, United States
©National Trust Images/Andreas von Einsiedel
The National Trust looks after more than 40,000 pieces of dress or costume, including objects of national significance. Some pieces belonged to people who lived or worked in the Trust’s historic houses, while others belonged to unknown individuals. From luxurious attire to practical everyday working clothes, the NT’s assemblage contains examples of women and men’s fashions, children’s clothing, and accessories. While the collection represents 500 years of fashion trends and innovation, it also offers something more intimate than just evidence of material survival; it is a repository of the life traces of tens of thousands of people. Emma Slocomb, Senior National Curator of Dress and Textiles at the National Trust, will introduce her new co-authored book 100 Things to Wear: Fashion from the National Trust Collections (Fall 2025). Informed by new research and photography, she will share a selection of the most significant collection items—from the opulence of the Tudor period to the tailoring of the Windrush generation. She will explain how the way people dressed reflected their social power, political tastes, and personality. Finally, she will delve behind the scenes, illustrating the work of the Textile Conservation Studio team.
Emma Slocombe is the National Trust’s Senior National Curator for Dress and Textiles and has been a curator at the National Trust since 2006. Her principal interests lie in early modern textiles, furnished interiors, and histories of textile recycling and repurposing – subjects on which she has published widely. She is currently leading projects that explore the manufacture, exchange and repurposing of a broad range of dress and textiles. Recent publications include ‘Textile Transmissions: Repurposing church vestments in the Reformation’ (National Trust Cultural Heritage Magazine, Autumn 2023) with Professor James Clarke (Exeter University). She also co-leads research into ‘Histories of Childhood’ with Professor Sian Pooley (Oxford University), and authored ‘Fashion at Play: An 18th century doll at Dudmaston Hall’ (National Trust Cultural Heritage Magazine, Spring 2024).
Tickets: FREE for members*; $15 non-members
*Membership discount applied automatically when logged into your Royal-Oak.org account
