The Warner Textile Archive is a UK-based collection of

textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

designs A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

and paper records operated by Braintree District Museum Trust. It opened in 1993 and is the second largest collection of publicly-owned

in the UK (after the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

). Based in Braintree, Essex the Archive consists of some 100,000 items representing the creative and commercial legacy of Warner & Sons, a leading textile manufacturer that operated from Braintree throughout much of the twentieth century. The Warner Textile Archive is housed in part of the original mill building at Silks Way, Braintree, and maintains a publicly accessible gallery along with rotating public exhibitions. Warner & Sons was a leading manufacturer of silk and velvet, as well as producing a wide range of other woven fabrics. Notably, it created the Queen's coronation robes and silk hangings used in Westminster Abbey during the coronation ceremony. Representing two centuries of UK textile manufacturing history, the archive features work by artists/designers such as Augustus Pugin, William Morris, Vanessa Bell, Marianne Straub,

Hans Tisdall Hans Tisdall (nee Aufseeser, 14 August 1910 – 31 January 1997), was a German-born artist, who worked in the UK as a designer and teacher. He is largely remembered for his bookjacket and textile designs. After training in Munich and Berlin, ...

, Lynton Lamb and Graham Sutherland. The Warner archive was conserved for many years by the wallpaper and fabric company

Walker Greenbank Walker Greenbank (LON: WGB) is a UK public company designing and manufacturing wallpaper and fabrics, with a history stretching back more than a century. It trades under several brands including Arthur Sanderson & Sons, Morris & Co., Zoffany and ...

which sold the collection to Braintree in 2004.

References

External links

Warner Textile Archive websiteBBC's A History of the World showing Queensway Coronation Silk designed by Robert Godden and woven by Warner & SonsBritish Pathé film showing Warner's staff weaving the Queen's coronation robes in 1952
Textile museums in the United Kingdom Art museums and galleries in Essex Archives in Essex Braintree, Essex {{Textile-arts-stub