I had a lovely time a few weeks back when I was staying at the Hereford Caravan and Camping Club site.
There are lots of Trust properties in that area so I was pleased that I managed to visit two as well as Leominster for the embroidery exhibition.
The first of two that I went to in one day was Croft Castle. Like Dunster, in Somerset, this started life as a castle and was then modified into a family home.
The family had close links with the court of Elizabeth 1st, so there were some wonderful portraits in the entrance hall.
One of the exhibits was a, ‘Croft Cloth’, that was made in 2018 to celebrate the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, which gave more people the vote.
The cloth has oak leaves with the names of staff, volunteers and visitors, this being the symbol of the Trust. I love collaborative projects like these, reminiscent of the signature quilts from Victorian era fundraisers.
There was also some interesting embroidery in the form of a collage featuring the castle done in 1960 by Frances Kay.
There were some stunning ceiling and wall decorations that I will add to my possible future designs for needlework, these would look amazing in white work.
The other visit was to Berrington Hall, a Georgian property with a surprise textile treasure.
A dress owned by one of the Georgian occupants of the house, Ann Bangham, was acquired at auction and there is a display of the dress and its construction.
The dress consists of many parts so the textile historians had to reconstruct it. It dates from the late 1700s.
As well as this very good interpretation there is a room devoted to a display by the needlework volunteers who each created their own version of the missing stomacher.
It is brilliant to see so much information about these wonderful people. Often there is no information and little credit given to the volunteers who also produce such high quality garments for visitors to dress in at the house.
The detail on the embroidered jacket here is wonderful, well done to all who contributed to this collection.
I shall be back as soon as I can as I have lots more to share with you. The app for mobile is very slow and as I have only limited WiFi as well posts take a long time to do. Meanwhile I hope that you have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.
Stitches of Time 
Berrington Hall sounds an absolute treat! Is the exhibition a special, time limited one, or is this something I have time to get around to?
As far as I could tell it is a permanent part of the collection now. Really great interpretation with three rooms devoted to the gown history and all of the foundation garments and its reconstruction then the needlework room so it forms a large part of the upper floor. The costume room is another section. One if the best costume areas I have seen in a Trust House children’s and adults as well as hats and wigs. Well worth a visit.