Museum’s lace has an expert’s touch
A display which is now a permanent feature among the exhibits of the Science Museum in South Kensington, bears the touch of an expert from the tiny Bedfordshire village of Podington.
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Mrs. Robinson, of Podington, was at work on her pillow lace when our photographer paid a visit
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The display is one of the old craft of Bedfordshire lace making, and the local expert whose work is on show and whose advice was given on the setting is Mrs. M. E. Robinson, 37 Vicarage Lane, Podington.
Asked for assistance by officials of the museum, some time ago, Mrs. Robinson obtained the required number of bobbins for the display, and gave advice on the setting, which is based on a room in her own home.
It depicts two girls at work making lace by the light of single candle set between four water-bowls, each of which reflected its light on the arena in which girls sitting around them were working.
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Mrs Robinson's bobbin winder
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The lace the models are "making" is actually the work of Mrs. Robinson, and the bobbins in front of one modelnicknamed "Charlotte Brown"were originally the property of the late Charlotte Brown, of Podington, an expert lacemaker.
Taught by mother
Among details attended to by Mrs. Robinson, with the assistance of a friend (Mrs. E. Stuart), were the position of a pin being handled by one of the models, which was being removed from the front of the lace, and had to be changed to the back.
Mrs. Robinson herself is one of the remaining Bedfordshire lacemakers, having been taught by her mother in 1918. A native of Stevington, after her marriage she went to live at Podington. The bobbin winder shown above, was used by three generations.
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