Whitchurch Silk Mill has been open as a living museum since 1990, under the management of Whitchurch Silk Mill Trust, to ensure the survival of silk weaving using traditional machinery and methods. The mill’s collections span over 200 years and about 5,000 objects and tell the story of 200 years of silk making in Whitchurch.
The Radcliffe Trust gave a grant to Whitchurch Silk Mill for their Heritage Weaving Program which offers a 12-month post to a graduate in textiles. Whitchurch Silk Mill aims to address the national critical craft skill shortage and provide other transferable skills to support the wider Heritage Sector.
At the moment, the silk mill is reweaving historic threads for a jacket worn by George Washington.
Historic Threads Rewoven: English Mill to replicate George Washington’s silk for The Morristown National Historical Park
Whitchurch Silk Mill in Hampshire, England, is stepping back in time, more than two centuries to be exact, and is weaving the silk worn by George Washington to his first inaugural ball in 1789. The Georgian mill has been commissioned to weave an authentic replica of the original fabric as part of a remarkable project led by bespoke tailor and Associate Collections Specialist in the Ratti Textile Centre at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philip De Paola.
Philip De Paola with George Washington’s original suit
De Paola, who recently finished his master’s thesis at The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, aims to create a faithful reproduction of Washington’s silk suit. The finished suit will eventually be displayed at The Morristown National Historical Park in New Jersey, the institution that holds the original.
The original suit, once destined to go on display for the United States’ 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, has been deemed too fragile and discoloured to exhibit. Instead, the replica will take centre stage, allowing visitors to connect with a pivotal moment in American history through a meticulously recreated symbol of leadership and legacy.
To ensure accuracy, the original suit was studied in exceptional detail, documenting measurements, weaving structures and materials used. An exact pattern was created, and the original colour of the silk was determined by analysing unfaded sections of the garment and testing fibre samples for dye content at the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute.
Using this information and photographs of the original fabric fragments magnified, Whitchurch Silk Mill will replicate both the weave and the distinctive colour of the original fabric. Once complete, the silk will be transformed into a completely hand-sewn recreation of Washington’s historic suit, offering museum visitors a vivid and tangible link to the founding of the United States. Thanks to the Victorian machinery still in operation today, the mill can authentically recreate historic fabric characteristics, like the signature striped selvedge; a detail a mill with modern machinery can rarely replicate.
George Washington’s signature striped selvedge
With a rich history of weaving for iconic brands, blockbuster films, and a recent collaboration with Jane Austen’s House, Whitchurch Silk Mill is the perfect setting for a project steeped in historical fashion and textile conservation.
The Radcliffe Trust awarded The Shakespeare Globe Trust a grant to support developing skills in stage craft directing.
The photograph above is from the production of Three Sisters by Anton Chekov
The grant was spent on funding an early career Assistant Director for a production of Chekov’s “Three Sisters”. Shakespeare’s Globe was delighted to be able to work with an early career Assistant Director on this production. As well as benefitting their professional development, this also enabled them to approach the play differently, which was useful as it provided a departure from some of their usual work. The Shakespeare Globe Trust hopes to be able to provide similar opportunities to more early career Assistant Directors on future productions.
The Assistant Director for the production of “Three Sisters”, was Shiv Rabheru. The grant enabled Shiv to be able to work with the creative team and the cast for three weeks from 16 December 2024 – 17 January 2025 in rehearsal, working alongside director Rory Mullarkey. Shiv’s own account of the experience is below:
“Being an assistant director at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre was a very inspiring experience and wouldn’t have been possible without The Radcliffe Trust. To support directors at this stage in their careers allows for invaluable creative development and growth. I have found myself even more sure of how I want to work as an artist and will take the tools and processes learnt from working with the Globe into my own practice. Thank you.”
Shakespeare’s Globe reported that without the grant support from The Radcliffe Trust they would have been unable to provide this role. The grant made a significant difference to their ambition of introducing more opportunities for early career creatives.
The Radcliffe Trust supported the Aurora Orchestra with the production costs for two performances of Martin Suckling’s The Wolf, the Duck and the Mouse at Kings Place in November 2024 – one for families, and one for local Camden primary schools. This production was aimed at 4-8 year-olds. They are very grateful for the grant awarded by The Radcliffe Trust.
Based on the popular children’s book, The Wolf, the Duck and the Mouse, is a 40-minute ‘fable in music’ for orchestral ensemble and narrator, aimed specifically at 4-8year-olds. The production gives a highly entertaining and interactive introduction to orchestral instruments, while telling Barnett and Klassen’s eccentric story of the duck and the mouse who are swallowed by a wolf. Suckling pairs each character with an instrument (duck and Cor Anglais; mouse and piccolo; wolf and trombone; hunter and bassoon), who help to drive the narrative with recurring themes and musical styles; the remaining instruments (clarinet, trumpet, three horns, string ensemble and percussion) make up the sounds of the forest, along with the audience members who are invited to join in at various moments with body percussion and singing. The production was very visually engaging, with lighting effects, projections of key illustrations from the book, and movement of players to support the storytelling, including utilising parts of the auditorium and balcony.
Teachers reported how beneficial the opportunity was for broadening children’s cultural worlds, particularly as many of the young people would not ordinarily visit a concert hall. One teacher said: “as part of a culture of concert-going at Rhyl it represents part of a broader aim across the school to give these children a bigger sense of the world that is all around them in London”.
As well as giving families an engaging and fun experience of orchestral music, the public performance played an important role in helping Aurora to build new family audiences at Kings Place: 75% of audience members who responded to a survey were attending an Aurora children’s show for the first time.
The Radcliffe Trust awarded Oxford Lieder a grant to support their an annual 12-month, world-class professional development programme for up to 8 early-career pianist/singer duos, combining professional mentoring with performance, curatorial and pedagogic opportunities that showcases and nurtures the UK’s finest young and emerging artists.
The Young Artists are all now benefiting from a suite of professional development opportunities which will run until October 2025, aiming to take their careers to the next level. The Radcliffe Trust Grant specifically went towards:-
1) Performances by The Young Artists at the Oxford International Festival 2024
Oxford Lieders’ 23rd Festival programme ran from 11-26 October and was one of their most ambitious and successful to date, attracting an audience attendance of c.9,700 from across the UK and internationally. As part of the Festival programme, each duo was invited to give a 15-minute performance to begin headline evening recitals throughout the first week – their “Emerging Artist” recitals – enabling them to gain public and critical profile. Ahead of their performances at this year’s Oxford International Song Festival, all the Young Artists got together in September for an informal programming workshop and masterclass with Artistic Director Sholto Kynoch.
2) The Young Artists’ participation in the Oxford Lieder Mastercourse
Each duo also received a fully-funded place on our residential Mastercourse which ran through the Festival’s second week, providing our duos with a series of masterclasses led by pianist Anne le Bozec and guest tutors Christian Immler, Stéphane Degout and Joan Rodgers, as well as attending Festival events. The week culminated in the Young Artists all performing at a showcase concert on 26 October in the Holywell Music Room, Oxford, which attracted an appreciative public audience.
Oxford Lieder Say:-
As a major funder of the programme, The Radcliffe Trust’s grant has made a significant difference to the Programme’s success and delivery, and the sixteen artists who have participated.
Oxford International Song Festival relies on the support of individuals, companies and trusts such as The Radcliffe Trust – without it, we would be forced to scale down the ambition and length of our Young Artist Programme. It remains vital that young artists receive high-profile concert platform engagements and experience, so by supporting their performances and our Mastercourse at this year’s main festival, The Radcliffe Trust’s grant has had a significant impact on those participating.
Our Young Artist Programme is also unique in its focus on classical song (as distinct from opera) which generally becomes marginalised in many early careers because the opera world provides far more professional opportunities for young singers (even though song recitals are a medium that many singers find artistically and personally enriching). In the long run, this means that audiences are less well-served by excellent classical song recitals. In this context, our Young Artist Programme is therefore extremely important, and your support is therefore having a positive impact on both the performance of song and the arts sector as a whole.
Exeter Cathedral was founded in 1050, and is a magnificent building, steeped in history. The present cathedral was built between 1114 and 1258 and is one of the best and most complete surviving examples of the English Decorative style of architecture left. A place of spirituality, learning and outreach, it is seen as an essential community hub, as well as offering amazing opportunities for talented young people in heritage craft skills. There is a team of six heritage stone masons. All benefit from gaining ongoing experience, training and learning opportunities whenever possible.
Thanks to a grant from the Radcliffe Trust, Exeter Cathedral was able to arrange for members of the stonemasonry team to undertake a four day Portrait Clay Modelling class delivered by leading artist and sculptor Andrian Melka. The first three days the masons were tasked with producing a clay portrait of cathedral Archaeologist John Allen. The last day the team were taught the methodology of producing plaster casts of the clay models.
The masons have delivered carved detail on projects previously. This course really helped the masons to learn replica and figurative carving of the human face and features for future works. A complete change to the more usual grotesques and foliage.
The Cathedral is very grateful for the Radcliffe Trust as the grant represents an investment in the individual masons expanding their skills and knowledge as they work for the benefit, care and maintenance of Exeter Cathedral’s medieval stonework in the near future.
Orchard Barn is a volunteer-run centre for environmental education in rural mid Suffolk providing practical training in traditional timber framing and construction techniques.
Students are taken into the woods to learn to source / hand convert trees into timber and dig clay. Over 5,000 trainees/volunteers have benefitted over the years with hands-on learning on practical projects that keep the East Anglian tradition of building with earth and trees alive (now with increased relevance to challenge of combatting climate change). The volunteer working parties typically last from 9am-3pm.
The Radcliffe Trust has been delighted to support Orchard Barn several times over the years including supporting their volunteer activities including making repairs to the timber frame of a Suffolk Long House using local trees and converting them into a greenwood shingle roof, making and fitting lathe for ceilings and walls and using hot lime plaster.
The latest Radcliffe Trust grant enabled Orchard Barn to pay a local craftsperson to provide training and subsequently supervise volunteers in traditional greenwood working.
The photograph shows a typical working party having a well-earned break in the sunshine.
Rowan Humberstone is an arts centre and forest school for adults with learning disabilities based in Cambridgeshire. Since their inception in 1984 Rowan Humberstone has provided a safe, creative, and enriching environment where the arts are used as a tool to bring people together and tackle social exclusion.
The Radcliffe Trust has provided a number of grants, since 2021, for music workshops and music therapy sessions. The Radcliffe Trust grants to Rowan have increased access and participation in music for adults with learning disabilities who have least access to live music making. Rowan Humberstone has been able to:-
Provide choice and encourage participation through creative expression
Veterans’ Growth is a charity based on five acres of peaceful farmland in East Sussex. It supports veterans struggling with mental health challenges. Their programme combines rehabilitation with skill-building activities such as horticulture and woodworking. One of their most successful initiatives is the “Small Acorns” woodworking project, partly funded by The Radcliffe Trust.
Veterans’ Growth’s experienced in-house green woodworker gives workshops on the disappearing art of traditional rake-making, using traditional tools and materials. This is a heritage craft listed on the Endangered Crafts Register.
The Radcliffe Trust’s grant enabled participants to work with locally harvested green wood to create a variety of items, including rakes, fencing, benches, and decorations. These products were sold at community fundraising events, raising over £3,000 for Veterans’ Growth and supporting the project’s self-sustainability. The woodworking activities proved to be highly inclusive, particularly for veterans with limited mobility, as they could craft items using soft green wood and hand tools. Furthermore, the project was active year-round, offering a viable alternative during winter months when other site activities were limited by weather.
The rake-making project delivered profound impacts for veterans and also the broader community. By engaging in the endangered craft of rake-making, veterans developed practical skills, gained a sense of purpose, and experienced therapeutic benefits. The hands-on nature of woodworking helped reduce anxiety, improve focus, and foster mental well-being. This structured activity boosted confidence and supported veterans reintegration into civilian life, offering opportunities to build new hobbies, careers, or volunteer roles. This activity was so successful it will be continued.
Mull Music Makers offers young people on the island of Mull the opportunity to learn the violin and develop general musicianship. Mull Music Makers creates musical opportunities for youngsters living in a severely under-serviced and remote island community. They have an innovative, blended model of delivery focusing on developing core musicianship skills, classical technique, ensemble coaching and performance through free and regular access to online and in-person violin workshops.
The Radcliffe Trust grant was able to support eight weekend workshops and a 5-day summer school delivered in the 2023-24 season for over 50 young people from all corners of the island. Lead tutor, Patsy Reid created a number of bespoke multi-part arrangements especially for Mull Music Makers and parts were taught using a well-balanced mix of learning music by ear and note reading. In-person and online sessions for a new intake of beginners in their Early Years were also delivered.
Music skills from in-person workshops were further developed and supported by a course of online videos and tutorials. These were designed to support practise at home and keep motivation levels up in the gaps between workshops.
Thanks to Patsy Reid’s pool of contacts, the youngsters worked and performed with some of Scotland’s finest musicians and educators, experiencing music from a diverse range of teaching styles and genres along the way. This year’s guest tutors included Duncan Chisholm, Hamish Napier, Richard Michael, Seonaid Aitken, Signy Jakobsdottir, Anna Massie, Sam Sweeney, Jack Smedley, Roo Geddes and Alasdair Savage. Many guest tutor weekends resulted in additional community concerts and ceilidhs which the wider community were also able to enjoy.
The Radcliffe Trust’s most recent grant was used to provide bursaries to three students on the two-year MPhil Textile Conservation programme at the Kelvin Centre for Conservation and Cultural Heritage Research.
One student graduated this year and successfully secured employment at The People’s History Museum, and the other two students are progressing to the second and final year of the MPhil.
None of these three students, would have been able to study textile conservation without The Radcliffe Trust’s generous support. The longer term impact of the Trust’s support can be seen from 15 individuals who have benefitted from the Radcliffe Trust’s support since 1994. The contribution they are making to the profession internationally is continuing today.
The key lesson learned over many years is that, if we are to continue to have highly skilled textile conservators preserving our textile heritage for future generations, securing funding for bursaries will continue to be absolutely vital.
Teachers reported how beneficial the opportunity was for broadening children’s cultural worlds, particularly as many of the young people would not ordinarily visit a concert hall. One teacher said: “as part of a culture of concert-going at Rhyl it represents part of a broader aim across the school to give these children a bigger sense of the world that is all around them in London”.
One student graduated this year and successfully secured employment at The People’s History Museum, and the other two students are progressing to the second and final year of the MPhil.
None of these three students, would have been able to study textile conservation without The Radcliffe Trust’s generous support. The longer term impact of the Trust’s support can be seen from 15 individuals who have benefitted from the Radcliffe Trust’s support since 1994. The contribution they are making to the profession internationally is continuing today.