Our Textile Town

Our Textile Town was a collaboration between the Padiham Townscape Heritage Initiative, town centre regeneration project and Gawthorpe Textiles Collection.

During 2019 a series of activities were created for the communities of Padiham to connect with the textile heritage on their doorstep in Gawthorpe Hall. They also encouraged visitors to the Hall to also visit Padiham town centre. Three strands of activity took place.:

Artist Harriet Lawton led workshops to identify patterns around Gawthorpe Hall and within Gawthorpe Textiles Collection's archive. Harriet worked with members of the public to design patterns, applying traditional principles of pattern design and echoing the swatches within the traditional textile sample books of Lancashire’s historic textile industry. Beginning as a drawn pattern, participants then used traditional hand-stitch techniques to create a unique textile pattern square.

The patterns have been used to create a new public realm artwork in Padiham town centre as part of the Padiham Townscape Heritage scheme.

Alongside this, workshops were led by artist Haesel Abbott at the Picture House Gallery in Padiham town centre. The activities were inspired by items in the textile collection. Activities included rag-rugging, and a range of embroidery techniques including kantha stitch and Berlin woolwork.

A further three workshops were led by artist Elnaz Yazdani and took place at Gawthorpe Hall. The workshop activities were inspired by Elnaz’s work in the Strands of Place and Time exhibition on display in the Hall. the activities introduced contemporary embroidery techniques and goldwork.