Textile Heritage & Conservation

Conserving and preserving our textiles heritage.

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We have been one of the foremost supporters of textile conservation in the UK. Since the 1980s, we have made capital grants, funded research, and provided bursaries for students at the Centre for Textile Conservation, supporting the Centre to the tune of £1.75 million when it was at the University of Southampton, and now in Glasgow. In 2022, we made a grant to the centre to support bursaries on its two-year MPhil course.

The Clothworkers’ Centre for the Study and Conservation of Textiles and Fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), Blythe House, was made possible by our £1 million grant towards the £3 million cost of the Centre. The British Museum’s World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre, which opened in 2014, benefited from our £750,000 grant towards its Organics Conservation lab.

In 2019 and 2020, we funded two projects at regional museums, Worthing Museum and Manchester Art Gallery, to improve access to important textile collections.

In 2020, we committed £265,000 to the University of Oxford Textile Study Centre. This will support two roles over three years during an ambitious £10 million capital project, building one of the world's most important textile collections centres, and providing new opportunities for conservation, study and engagement.

We continue to fund internships in tapestry conservation through Historic Royal Palaces, at Hampton Court Palace, and now at the National Museums of Scotland as well.

Recent Grants

We awarded £265,000 in 2020 to the University of Oxford Textile Study Centre, providing new opportunities for conservation, study and engagement of the 8,000 textiles objects in the Pitt Rivers Museum (where only about 75 of these objects are currently accessible). Pictured here is a camel saddle cloth collected by Gigi Crocker Jones in Oman. 2003.9.58 © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

We awarded £265,000 in 2020 to the University of Oxford Textile Study Centre, providing new opportunities for conservation, study and engagement of the 8,000 textiles objects in the Pitt Rivers Museum (where only about 75 of these objects are currently accessible). Pictured here is a camel saddle cloth collected by Gigi Crocker Jones in Oman. 2003.9.58 © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

In 2020, we awarded £70,000 to Manchester Art Gallery towards the cost of moving the costume collection (clothing, textile and fashion accessories) from Platt Hall to a newly-created space in central Manchester. © Manchester Art Gallery.

In 2020, we awarded £70,000 to Manchester Art Gallery towards the cost of moving the costume collection (clothing, textile and fashion accessories) from Platt Hall to a newly-created space in central Manchester. © Manchester Art Gallery.

We awarded £45,500 to the Worthing Museum & Art Gallery in 2019 to create a costume research centre covering this regional museum’s important collection of textiles and costume. Image: Pair of leather gauntlet gloves, circa 1650. © Worthing Museum & Art Gallery.

We awarded £45,500 to the Worthing Museum & Art Gallery in 2019 to create a costume research centre covering this regional museum’s important collection of textiles and costume. Image: Pair of leather gauntlet gloves, circa 1650. © Worthing Museum & Art Gallery.

Kim Tourret, who graduated from the Centre for Textile Conservation at University of Glasgow in 2018, spent her first year out of school participating in a one-year internship jointly funded by The Clothworkers’ Company and developing tapestry conservation skills at Historic Royal Palaces. © Historic Royal Palaces.

Kim Tourret, who graduated from the Centre for Textile Conservation at University of Glasgow in 2018, spent her first year out of school participating in a one-year internship jointly funded by The Clothworkers’ Company and developing tapestry conservation skills at Historic Royal Palaces. © Historic Royal Palaces.

Joan and Sue are volunteers at the Clothworkers’ Centre for the Study and Conservation of Textiles and Fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), Blythe House, which received £1 million from The Company. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Joan and Sue are volunteers at the Clothworkers’ Centre for the Study and Conservation of Textiles and Fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), Blythe House, which received £1 million from The Company. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.