Petworth Cottage Museum
The First Twenty Years
In 2016 we were able to stage an exhibition to celebrate twenty years of the museum. Extracted from the Petworth Society's scrapbooks of cuttings, the pictures and transcripts collected here occupied three sides of the exhibition hall. Five years on we cannot stage another physical exhibition but we can show these cuttings here. Unless otherwise stated the cuttings are all from the Midhurst & Petworth Observer. Click on the pictures to enlarge.
39 Textile Days at museum 18th June 2015
The whole community is invited along to textile conservation days at Petworth Cottage Museum over the next week. The museum contains a wealth of domestic and decorative textiles similar to those that would have been used by Mary Cummings's family in the early 20th century. Mary, who worked as a seamstress at Petworth House, lived in the cottage from 1901-1930. The museum is set up as if it was 1910 and materials are no newer than that date. This year is the museum's 20th season and it celebrated with two grants from the Petworth Horticultural Society and the Grange Community Association. The textiles range from white linens hanging on the drying rail in the small kitchen to colourful patchwork and embroidered cushions on the chairs and beds, crochet bedspreads and mantle covers and delicate lace trimmed bonnets and undergarments tucked away in drawers. Chairman of the museum, Gordon Stevenson, said: “Following an Arts Council England funded conservation assessment of the condition of the textiles in the cottage by Brighton-based textile conservator Zenzie Tinker ACR, it was found that many of the textiles would benefit from some specialist “TLC” to help maintain their condition so that future visitors to the cottage could continue to enjoy this unique snapshot of past life in Petworth. The curator of the museum, Amy Brown, successfully applied for a grant from the Grange Association in Midhurst to support the cost of three days in situ conservation. Next week Zenzie and a colleague will work in the cottage cleaning and improving the support of the textiles. They will pass on advice and simple conservation techniques so that the stewards can continue to care for the textiles at the cottage themselves.” Visitors can go along and see them work from Wednesday, June 24 through to Friday, June 26, and they will be able to ask questions of the conservators. For details, see www.petworthcottagemuseum.co.uk. The museum, at 346 High Street, Petworth, is open from 2pm to 4.30 pm Tuesday to Saturday, and all bank holiday Mondays until the end of October.
[Also on the recommendation of the original assessment the museum windows were fitted with U.V. protective film. The third conservation day at the museum was replaced by some off-site work restoring specific items. The Horticultural Society grant is being used in the garden, including the cost of replacing the whisky barrel water butt.]
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