I was appointed Adviser to the Doddington Tapestry Project from October 2016 until its completion in November 2018, supporting the textile conservators, to resolve any tricky technical problems, to help the team Leader with planning, to guide and oversee two internships and to report progress to owner Claire Birch.

It was a pleasure to act as adviser on the second phase of the project, the conservation of the tapestries from the Yellow Bedroom following on from the lead of former Adviser, Elaine Owers, in December 2016. We were so fortunate to have attracted the right people who formed a dedicated small team of skilled textile conservators, working latterly in a unique situation – a ‘studio’ set up within the Drawing Room at Doddington Hall, which had a dual purpose as part of visitor engagement.

The work has been carried out to a very high, professional standard, with great care and dedication. I personally have been so proud of what has been achieved, especially from the new team in the Yellow Bedroom, some of whom had only a minimum experience in tapestry conservation when they joined. This was a challenging set of tapestries that would have tested more experienced textile conservators and yet the team, under the leadership of Louise Welby (née Joynson), have done a fantastic job, producing excellent results in the conservation of the tapestries and their reinstatement in the room.