A 300-year-old bed cover, made from Chinese silk and embroidered with peacocks and flowers, was saved from ruin in the years after the first world war when the owners of country house estates in the UK found themselves short of cash and servants.
The rare and fragile early 18th-century coverlet was created to grace the best bed chamber in Erddig Hall, near Wrexham. Now, almost 700 hours of painstaking conservation work by the National Trust has revealed an unexpected history.
Careful repair work was undertaken by the mistress of Erddig, Louisa Yorke, who patched and darned the coverlet using material found around the house.
The trust’s conservators found that material similar to petticoat quilting had been neatly stitched along the sides in what they described as a skilled example of “make do and mend”. The repair work also made use of other fabrics.
In her journal, Yorke described how she enlisted help. On 18 August 1919, she wrote: “My guests are all most obliging. We spent over an hour in the State-room putting pieces into the worn places of the beautiful Chinese drapery … It is a great work, but we shall get it done.”
Philip Yorke II, who had inherited the sprawling house in 1894, endeavoured to preserve the house and its contents as they were forced to cut household spending by half and reduce the number of staff. By the time of his death in 1922, the estate was in serious financial trouble. It was taken over by the National Trust in 1973.
The bed cover was commissioned in 1720 by Erddig’s then owner, John Mellor, for the room used to accommodate the family’s most distinguished guests. In the 19th century, it became known as the state bed and the state bedroom.
It was made from Chinese silk to match the state bed’s curtains, which feature Chinese figures, pagodas, birds and flowers.
Susanne Gronnow, Erddig’s property curator, said: “Thankfully, Mrs Yorke recognised the historical significance of the state bed. Her mend and repair approach helped preserve the bed-hangings for future generations. Without the dedication of Mrs Yorke and her friends over a century ago, this important bed would not have survived.”
The National Trust has been restoring the state bed since 2018. The coverlet was first conserved in the 1960s after it was rescued from near dereliction by the V&A. Then sections of embroidery were patched over.
The coverlet will be on display at Erddig from 4 September.