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Lanercost Priory The Dossal |
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| The Lanercost Dossal is an embroidered woollen cloth, 24ft by 4ft, which was made to hang on the wall behind the Priory altar. It was commissioned in 1881 by George Howard 9th Earl of Carlisle and was designed by William Morris (1834-96) famous as a poet and a designer of church and domestic furnishings. There are also three stained glass windows from the William Morris Company in the Priory. The Dossal was embroidered over a period of five years by the ladies of the Parish including, Mrs Bulkeley, Mrs Chapman and Mrs Dodgson, the wives of the past and present vicars. It was hung behind the Priory altar on Easter Day 1887. | |
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Linda Parry, an authority on William Morris textiles states: "It is of great artistic and historical significance as a major example of a William Morris design which was embroidered locally and, until, recently displayed in the public site for which it was designed. Furthermore, as a special commission as opposed to a commercially available product chosen from a catalogue this is important ranking alongside the frontal made in 1862 for St Martin's in Scarborough and another made for Busbridge Church in 1870. The Lanercost dossal is a far more developed design and to my mind aesthetically more important. |
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"The technique of embroidered worsted wools onto a felted ground is reminiscent of
Morris's earliest embroideries. Jane Morris, William Morris' wife, first came across the
felted woollen material in the late 1850s in a shop in London when they were searching
for an appropriate ground on which to embroider hangings for Red House. Morris probably
selected these materials because he was particularly fond of the effect."
By 2003 the Dossal had suffered from more than a century of dust, damp, exposure to light, moth and rodent and urgently required restoration. It was sent to The Lancashire Conservation Studios , Preston for assessment and an estimate of the costs of restoration and cleaning. Unfortunately due to other Priory priorities, heating and repairs of the Priory structure, no steps were taken to either determine its history or promote its restoration at that time. In December 2010 the Lanercost Priory PCC asked Christine Boyce to look into the history of the Dossal and to determine what could be done to restore it. An estimate of £25,000 has been made for the total cost of cleaning, conserving and returning the embroidery to the Priory in a secure display case. Progress has been made in promoting the importance of the Dossal with the local radio and local press and a Parish meeting . Applications for funding are being prepared to the Heritage Lottery Fund and The Council for the Care of Churches , other charities which support the arts and local organizations The Lanercost Primary School will be involved and the interest of the community sought. Sums of money have already been pledged. The Lanercost PCC would be grateful for donations and advice on how funds can be raised to bring this national and particularly Cumbrian work of art back to the Priory. Christine Boyce All Dossal images © Alan Sawer 2011. |
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