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Axminster
Heritage updates
Find out about Heritage project developments below with our news snippets
- remember to check back regularly for the latest updates and details of upcoming
events! |
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Axminster Heritage
Limited
have been
awarded £200,000
 read
more |
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Heritage Centre plans
and Country Life magazine article
read
more |
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The Earl of Devon becomes
Honorary President of Axminster Heritage read
more |
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A pair of
new bells were
commissioned and
named after Whitty &
Dutfield read
more |
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Green light for proposed new Heritage Centre
Axminster Heritage Limited have been awarded £200,000 by Devon County Council towards the development of a Heritage Centre in the town. The grant has been made available from the money acquired by the Council from the sale of Exeter Airport and allocated to develop capital projects in the county.
The Leader of Devon County Council,
Cllr Brian Greenslade, said: "I am very pleased that
the County Council has been able to help. Axminster carpets
are known worldwide and the proposed heritage centre
helps the County Council deliver its policy of celebrating
Devon's culture. This is yet another example of the money
from the highly successful sale of Exeter Airport being
invested in Devon."
Whilst £1.5m will be required to fully develop the Centre that will be located in Thomas Whitty House in Silver Street, Axminster, the grant will facilitate the purchase of the building which is the site where many early ‘Axminster’ carpets were manufactured over 200 years ago.
John Church, the Chairman of the project says a further £150,000 or more will have to be raised within the next twelve months to utilise the award and make the development a viable proposition. It should then be feasible to open a prototype of the Centre and relocate the current Axminster Museum within it. Due to dry rot in its current location in Church Street it is unlikely that the present Town Museum will be able to open this year and that makes the grant a particularly welcome windfall.
In addition the Tourist Information Centre have expressed an interest in the project and relocating into Thomas Whitty House.
Axminster County Cllr Douglas Hull
said: "I am delighted that the project is to receive
this funding. If we are able to get this centre going,
it will be another attraction to bring people into Axminster.
This would enhance not only the local shops but also
the educational facilities in the town. It would be tremendous
if we could get a permanent display of the marvellous
carpets which we made here."
As funds become available the Heritage Centre will be developed further and it is envisaged that when the Centre is fully operational it could attract as many as 20,000 visitors to Axminster.
Last year in Thomas Whitty House, Axminster Heritage Limited presented a well received exhibition depicting the history of Axminster’s world famous carpet industry. It is proposed to develop the exhibition further this year and open for the summer season on Wednesday 27th May 2009 at 11.00am. Once again entrance to the exhibition will be free, although donations towards the future development will be most welcome.
As an additional attraction, commencing on Saturday 30th May and for the month of June a Farming Exhibition will be held in the Drill Hall adjacent to the carpet exhibition.
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Exhibition
now open
The
exhibition in Thomas Whitty
House - located in Silver Street, Axminster - is now
open to the public.
click
here for full details and opening times
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Exhibition to
open on 2 July 2008
 The work taking place in Axminster's historic Thomas Whitty House located in Silver Street is almost complete as Axminster Heritage Ltd counts down the days until the launch of its exhibition devoted to the development of the world famous Axminster carpet.
Opening on Wednesday 2nd July, the exhibition tells the story of how the market town of Axminster became the home of this now multi-million pound industry. As well as describing how carpets were manufactured, it also highlights where many of the original carpets made by Thomas Whitty are still in use today in the UK and abroad.
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Breaking News
- Exhibition Plans
  Inspired
by the enthusiastic interest and support of local people
for the Axminster Heritage Centre we are very pleased
to be able to report that plans are well advanced to
open a limited exhibition of the story of Axminster carpets
at Thomas Whitty House in the old carpet manufactory
this summer. A recent article in Country Life about the
project has also encouraged us in the promotion of this
vision.
visit the Country Life Magazine website
 We have leased the front of the ground floor from the
present owner - Axminster Carpets Ltd - and are employing
Mr Robin Wade, who has an excellent reputation in the
field of museum design, to assist us with the development.
In the longer term we have negotiated an option to purchase the Grade II listed building, which would enable us to relocate the present town museum, the Tourist Information Centre and displays to a single central site where there is room for development.
 We
have also been approached about the possibility of including in the exhibition
a 250-year-old Axminster Carpet made at the original manufactory, together with
other pieces of period furniture, so that we could recreate a Robert Adam setting
at the Centre.
Watch this space for further news.
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Announcement: Honorary
President of Axminster Heritage
We are delighted and honoured to announce that the Earl of Devon has agreed to
become Honorary President of Axminster Heritage. Shortly after the appointment,
Earl and Countess Devon visited Axminster Carpets and were given a tour of
the factory hosted by Simon and Josh Dutfield.
The photograph shows Sir Neville
Marriner, Patron, the Earl of Devon, Countess Devon, Lady Marriner, Laurence
Hitchcock, Lady Polwarth examining the beauty of the end product with Josh Dutfield
who led the guided tour.
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Tracking down possibly the most
famous Axminster carpet of all!
We are trying to track down possibly THE MOST FAMOUS AXMINSTER CARPET OF ALL;
in 1822 the famous Whitty factory produced what must have been one of the most
remarkable carpets ever woven on a hand loom. It measured 74 feet x 52 feet,
so both its size and weight to man handle at that time must have been incredible.
We believe it was made for the Sultan of Turkey and was certainly layed in the
Topkapi Palace in Istanbul; it depicted a blazing sun, the moon and a constellation
of stars. For more information about the carpet, click here to read our full
article!
If anyone has any information or clues as to the whereabouts or even
demise of this wonderful masterpiece could they please contact Fred Wells either
by e-mail on fred@wellscarpetbroker.co.uk or
telephone 0044 (0)1297 33771.
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Dissertation
Lady Susan Stern produced a 95 page dissertation for her MA Decorative
Arts and Historic Interiors titled 'Craftsman, Innovator, Entrepreneur: Thomas
Whitty and the English Carpet' which examines the role of Thomas Whitty of Axminster
in the development of the English carpet in the second half of the Eighteenth
Century.
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A list of seamless hand knotted
Axminster carpets is being compiled
Brenda Rose, the leading authority on early Axminster
carpets is compiling an up-to-date list of all seamless
hand knotted Axminster carpets made between 1755 and
1835.
Brenda may be contacted directly on 01939 290778 and
would be very pleased to hear from anyone with knowledge
of such carpets and their location whether they are privately
owned or in the public domain.
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The Sounds
of Carpet Making
A CD compiled by Brian Vaughton depicting sounds and
reminiscences
of carpet making in the past is now available
for just £7 (including delivery).
Please contact Brian
directly
on
01297
552171 for more
information or to order your copy! |
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An audio documentary to
celebrate the 250th anniversary of the making of the
first Axminster carpet.
Track listing -
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Minster
Church - two new bells
Two new bells for The Minster Church of St. Mary were
specially commissioned as part of The Weavers' Tales
celebrations in 2005 to commemorate the tremendous
impact the two great weavers - Thomas Whitty and Harry Dutfield - have had
on the growth and development of Axminster. The two
new bells named the "Whitty" and "Dutfield" bells
were hung in the Minster Church of St. Mary in February 2006 at the conclusion
of major restoration works to the Tower of The Minster and it is planned for
them to be rung for the first time at Eastertime.
Minster Church - two new bells click
here to view photos
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