London Craft Week: The Spencer House Silks

With London Craft Week taking place from this week from 4 - 10 October , we’re taking a look at some of the events, exhibitions and talks which are not to be missed.

Celebrating outstanding British and international creativity, London Craft Week brings together over 250 established and emerging makers, designers, brands and galleries from around the world who will be taking part in around 380 events across the week. One of these events is a look at the silk damask fabrics that have become synonymous with Spencer House, London.

Spencer House is a rare survival of an 18th-century London aristocratic palace. Originally built for the first Earl Spencer between 1756 and 1766, the house was later the focus of an ambitious restoration project by RIT Capital Partners plc under the chairmanship of Lord Rothschild. Between 1985 and 1995, the State Rooms were restored to their former splendour by a huge team of specialist craftspeople, historians, conservators and designers.

Among them was the renowned firm of British fabric manufacturers, Humphries Weaving. Utilising traditional techniques and their expert knowledge of 18th-century textile patterns and colours, Humphries Weaving designed and created a range of silk damask fabrics that have become synonymous with Spencer House. Employed as furniture upholstery, curtains and wall silks, these beautiful fabrics form an integral part of the rooms’ distinctive characters.

In this talk, Humphries Weaving discuss their work at Spencer House and take participants through their entire design and weaving process, incorporating archival research, the importance of hand-drawing for accurate replication, the selection of weave patterns, the development of custom colours and, finally, the moment when all of these elements come together on the loom.

The talk takes place in the magnificent Great Room, surrounded by examples of Humphries Weaving’s work. After the talk there is an opportunity to explore the rest of the house.

Find out more about the talk here: Talk by Humphries Weaving: The Spencer House Silks

London Craft Week runs from 4 - 10 Cctober 2021.