Embroidery, St. Andrew’s church, Mells

This large silk embroidery on linen was designed by the pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne Jones and made by his friend Lady Frances Horner in the 1880s.  It was soiled and degraded in the lower right quarter from mould because of water gradually seeping through the wall of the church and into the frame housing the textile.  The embroidery was removed from the damaged frame and stretcher revealing the unfaded colours of the silk threads on the reverse and the presence of two pins from the time it was made. The dust and mould on the front and back was removed using soft brushes in combination with low vacuum suction.  The degraded linen in the damaged area was supported onto a piece of new linen using stitching, and the whole embroidery was stitch mounted onto a new fabric covered board made of moisture resistant aluminium honeycomb with a fibreglass skin.  It was reframed with museum glazing and rehung in the church.